On December 29, the Italian cabinet passed a decree to maintain military aid to Ukraine until the end of 2026, thereby completing a compromise in the ruling coalition after weeks of debate.
The new decree is basically similar to the laws passed in the past 3 years, according to which the Italian government will transfer military means, supplies and equipment to Ukraine.
This agreement was made after the far-right League Party (League) threatened a white vote on the measure, a move that risks exacerbating disagreements related to Italy's stance on the conflict.
Federation Party leader Matteo Salvini, who is also the Italian Deputy Prime Minister, argued that continuing to transfer more military aid to Ukraine could increase corruption in Kiev and not help end the conflict.
However, according to the Party Federation, what makes this force change its position is that the new decree has been adjusted in the direction of prioritizing logistics and medical items for civil service, as well as defensive equipment to respond to airstrikes and cyber attacks.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Office has not yet announced the entire decree.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani - leader of the Forza Italia Party in the ruling coalition - welcomed the new bill, and said that the document needs to be ratified by parliament within 2 months.
This is a completely balanced decree, similar to previous documents. Italy will continue to support Ukraine militarily, economically, financially and politically," Mr. Tajani told local media.
Observers believe that the new aid package for Ukraine that Italy is nurturing is in a precarious situation when it still has to wait for Parliament's approval.
Meanwhile, Rome is under pressure to tighten public spending, especially the defense budget, amid high public debt and limited fiscal space.
Not only that, the prolonged disagreements in the ruling coalition on the level and form of military support for Kiev have not really ended as Deputy Prime Minister Salvani is inherently a hardliner on Ukraine. This makes the prospect of passing the aid package even more unpredictable.
Since Russia launched a large-scale military operation in Ukraine in 2022, Italy has sent 12 military aid packages to Kiev, although it has never disclosed details of the aid content, on the grounds that this is classified information.
On December 28, the Chief of the General Staff of the Italian Army, General Luciano Portolano, said that so far Italy has provided support sources worth more than 3 billion euros (about 3.5 billion USD).
