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Italy not planning to supply lethal arms to Ukraine - media

But the country is ready to deliver non-lethal equipment and outfits in line with decisions of its partners in the European Union and NATO

ROME, September 07, /ITAR-TASS/. Italy is not planning to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine but is ready to deliver non-lethal equipment and outfits in line with decisions of its partners in the European Union and NATO, local media reported on Sunday, citing sources in the defence ministry.

According to the sources in the Italian defence ministry, Rome, in close coordination with its partners, is ready to offer a “package of military assistance,” including non-lethal equipment and outfits, such as bulletproof vests and helmets.

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Poroshenko adviser names countries that promised Kiev weapons

Thus, “reports coming from Kiev are not true,” the source said. Earlier on Sunday, Yuri Lutsenko, an adviser to Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko and leader of the Pyotr Poroshenko Bloc party, wrote on his Facebook page that the latest NATO summit had yielded agreements on sending Western military advisers and the delivery of modern weapons from the United States, France, Italy, Poland and Norway.

At the end of the last week, Italian mass media speculated about possible sending of 90 Iveco armoured vehicles to the Ukrainian army. At the recent NATO summit in Newport, Italian Prime Minister Mateo Renzi announced Rome’s readiness to make a financial contribution to the Alliance’s trust funds to support Ukraine’s defence sector.

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Ukraine crisis Eastern Ukraine

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