Italy to send new aid package to Ukraine with ammo and air defenses by year's end
Photo: Italy is preparing a new aid package for Ukraine (Getty Images)
Italy is preparing its 12th package of military aid to Ukraine, which will include ammunition and air defense systems. The package may arrive by the end of the year, reports Bloomberg.
The new package may be ready by the end of the year, depending on parliamentary procedures.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government has already sent 11 aid packages worth between 2.5 and 3 billion euros in total.
Italy has sent two SAMP/T missile batteries to Kyiv. The details of the deliveries are subject to strict state secrecy laws.
Sources told the media that the government is also discussing activating a national exceptional clause on defense spending after the completion of the excessive deficit procedure. Both are mechanisms within the EU’s budget rules that allow additional defense spending.
Italy has also indicated that it will join the initiative of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization aimed at purchasing American weapons, including Patriot missiles, using European funds.
According to the sources, the amount of Italy’s contribution has not yet been determined.
Italy’s aid to Ukraine
Italy recently expressed readiness to join the purchase of US weapons for Ukraine under the PURL mechanism.
PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) is a joint initiative of the United States and NATO aimed at supplying weapons to Ukraine. Within the program, a list of the Ukrainian army’s priority needs is formed and passed on to allies.
On October 15, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that Ukraine had received commitments from 17 NATO countries to participate in the PURL program. After the program was launched, only six countries allocated funds to purchase American weapons for Ukraine.
