On December 2, sources familiar with the matter said that the Italian government had to delay the promulgation of a decree allowing the country to continue providing military aid to Ukraine next year.
The delay comes amid tensions within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing ruling coalition over support for Ukraine in the conflict with Russia.
According to sources, the aid decree for Ukraine, which was scheduled to be discussed at a meeting on December 2 in preparation for the next cabinet session, was withdrawn from the agenda due to overloading.
Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022, Italy has sent 12 military aid packages to Kiev, including the SAMP/T strategic air defense system jointly developed by France and Italy. The current decree is expected to expire at the end of 2025.
The decree allows the government to act without the need for the parliament to approve each aid package separately. If it continues to be passed, the decree will take effect immediately but still need to be approved by the parliament within 60 days.
However, the new decree does not clearly state the validity period of the granted license. Previous documents usually allowed the transfer of weapons within 1 year.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has supported Kiev since taking office at the end of 2022 and has repeatedly pledged to support Ukraine "until the end" of the conflict.
Meanwhile, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said that continuing to support Ukraine will not be able to help achieve the goal of ending the conflict and could increase corruption, citing the scandal that is shaking the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
