Italy’s defense minister sharpened Rome’s stance on the war in Ukraine on Friday, declaring that it would be “absurd” for the country to scale back or hesitate in providing support to Kyiv, according to Reuters. Speaking in Berlin at a gathering of European defense chiefs, Guido Crosetto said Italy was preparing to send its 12th aid package, reaffirming the government’s commitment despite growing political friction at home.
Crosetto said he had already approved the next tranche of military and civilian assistance, noting that Italy will bolster Ukraine’s energy resilience ahead of winter by delivering industrial-grade electrical generators. As Russia’s attacks continue to threaten Ukraine’s power grid, he argued, the need for European unity is more urgent than ever.
“It would seem absurd to me not to continue to do so, and indeed not to increase, with all the possibilities we have our aid to a nation that is doing nothing but defending itself from an absurd and incomprehensible attack,” Crosetto said, offering one of his strongest public endorsements of the war effort to date.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has consistently aligned Italy with NATO and the European Union on Ukraine, backing sanctions on Russia and pressing for the continued flow of weapons. But the message has grown more complicated within her right-wing coalition, where some partners are increasingly uneasy about the war’s longevity and economic consequences.
Chief among the skeptics is Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who earlier this month said Italy cannot keep sending “money and weapons for another 50 years,” a remark that underscored the political strains Meloni must navigate as the conflict drags on.
Crosetto’s comments in Berlin appeared intended not only for European allies but also for domestic critics, an insistence that, at least from the Defense Ministry’s vantage point, Italy’s course remains unchanged.
