Spain is burning, and eight helicopters capable of dumping over 5,000 litres of water in a matter of seconds are sitting grounded in hangars. Not because of a fault. Not because of the budget. Because of the sanctions the European Union itself introduced.

These are the Russian Kamov Ka-32 11BC, machines that were the backbone of Spanish firefighting for years. The trade blockade imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine bars Russian technicians from carrying out the mandatory servicing and blocks access to spare parts without which flying is not safe. Without that, the helicopters do not get clearance to fly in European airspace.

The problem is neither new nor unknown

Madrid officially confirmed that eight such machines are out of service. They previously operated from bases in Andalusia, Aragon, Extremadura and Guadalajara - precisely the regions where summer means fire. Firefighters on the ground say the precision and power of these twin-rotor machines are crucial for getting a fire under control. The Western replacements are less agile and considerably more expensive.

And now comes the part that stings most. According to available accounts, the government never even requested a technical exemption from Brussels. A parliamentary proposal to lift the sanctions specifically for these helicopters was rejected. Over the past year, Spain has not filed a formal request with the European institutions.

So this is not a case of somebody trying and failing. This is a state that knew it was entering fire season with reduced capacity and did not file a single request. Who answers for that when the tally of burnt hectares is drawn up?

The private operators did not wait

Pegasus, one of the larger operators offering firefighting services, confirmed the Kamov is no longer in its fleet - because of legal and technical restrictions under civil aviation standards. The market adapted faster than the administration, which is close to a law of nature.

None of this justifies Russia's actions in Ukraine, or the logic of sanctions as an instrument. But it does show something every bureaucracy stubbornly avoids: every measure has side effects, and somebody pays for those effects. This time the bill is being paid by the forests of the Iberian Peninsula and the people who live beside them.

The question that remains is whether Brussels has any mechanism at all to distinguish a jet carrying an oligarch from a helicopter putting out a fire. If the answer is no, then next summer will not be any different.