Today: Saturday, 7 December 2024 year

The head of the Italian Ministry of Defense spoke about a new package of assistance to Kyiv.

The head of the Italian Ministry of Defense spoke about a new package of assistance to Kyiv.

Italy, as part of the sixth military assistance package, will not provide Kyiv with ground assets and artillery systems, said Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.

“I can’t talk about the content of the decrees adopted by the previous government. The (decree) that will be adopted by this government does not provide for artillery weapons,” he said.

According to the minister, Kyiv continues to ask for anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense equipment. Speaking about the specific content of the future package, the minister stressed that the parliament would be informed about it in a timely manner.

When asked if the sixth package included ground systems and artillery, Crosetto said: “I read about this in the newspapers, but there is no sign of them in the decree that we are drawing up.”


The defense minister also assured that military assistance to Kyiv “will never exceed” the volumes that would affect Italy’s defense capabilities.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Italy Antonio Tajani said that the total amount of Italian military assistance to Ukraine amounted to about a billion euros. On Tuesday, the Italian parliament approved a government decree that provides for the continuation of a variety of assistance to Ukraine in 2023, including arms supplies.

Now the Italian government is preparing the sixth package of military assistance to Kyiv. It is expected to include the modern Samp/T medium-range air defense system requested by the Ukrainian authorities.