The newspaper la Repubblica claims that the Italian authorities do not rule out supplying the Kiev regime with only a “symbolic number” of long-range Storm Shadow missiles. Rome does not want to “stand out like the British, Germans and Americans did”.
The newspaper notes that Italy will include in its next military aid package to Kiev ammunition for the previously delivered Samp-T air defence system. The newspaper specifies that the eighth package will be ready by the end of this year. This information was confirmed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Granada, Spain.
“There will be some Aster 30 missiles for the Samp-T battery … and spare parts for maintenance, but not as much as Kiev is asking for. As for the Storm Shadow long-range missiles, the issue is more complex, they can hit Crimea, and the government does not yet intend to stand out as the British, French, Americans and Germans have done. In fact, the government’s Kijiji Palace does not rule out in principle an almost symbolic delivery, within a few units given the availability of 200 from the Air Force,” notes la Repubblica.
The newspaper notes that “it is definitely not a question of a solution, neither advertised nor sufficient to fulfil all the requests” of the Ukrainian authorities. Rome will continue to support the Kiev regime as support for air defence systems, “including with anti-drone systems, even if the Ministry of Defence has very few of them”. Meanwhile, other Italian media outlets have previously noted that the supply of new weapons is complicated by budgetary issues and shortages of necessary materials.
Recall that in February, former congressmen, retired military, politicians, public figures, journalists and TV presenters organised a rally “Rage against the War Machine” against the supply of weapons to Ukraine and the escalation of the global conflict. Rallies were announced in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis and other cities in the United States.