ROME, October 3. /TASS/. Italy is all tapped out where Ukraine is concerned, as the population is becoming increasingly critical of such assistance, according to the newspaper La Repubblica.
According to the newspaper, the new eighth military aid package, which should be ready by Christmas, is stalled.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani reported the package’s preparation in Kiev the previous day. The newspaper said that the defense ministry could not confirm this. Later, Tajani clarified that the new package may not include weapons, but rather uniforms and various non-lethal materials, such as night vision helmets. "Our line has not changed: no weapons received from Italy can be used to hit Russian territory. We are not at war with Russia," the newspaper quotes his explanation.
As the newspaper points out, the previous seven packages considerably drained Italy’s arsenals. Only one of them came under the current government. Meanwhile, funds for purchasing new weapons are scarce as the country needs to cut spending on health care and other social programs when drawing up the new budget, which is already causing protests from both the population and the opposition. Keeping voters happy at a time when they are increasingly less supportive of the continuation of the conflict is a hot topic. According to some opinion polls, up to 70% of Italians do not support sending arms. A number of protests and strikes have already been announced. It is important to note that the League party, which is part of the ruling coalition, has long been quite skeptical of the new shipments. Its leader, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, has to find the funds to build an expensive bridge across the Strait of Messina, which will connect Sicily with the Italian mainland.
According to the newspaper, Rome will try to keep the issue of arms supplies particularly low-profile and transfer aid to Ukraine to help rebuild the country, its infrastructure and cultural heritage.
As part of the last package, Italy and France sent Kiev the Samp-T air defense system. Italy will not supply the F-16 fighter jets that Kiev wants due to their unavailability. The Italians said that they do not participate in training Ukrainian pilots.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Western countries were actually at war with Russia by way of supplying arms to Ukraine, providing intelligence and helping to train troops.