Italian PM freezes new military aid package for Ukraine ahead of US midterm elections
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has frozen the dispatch of Italy's 13th military aid package for Ukraine while awaiting the results of the US midterm elections to Congress.
Source: Italian outlet Il Giornale d'Italia
Details: The next shipment of military aid is fully prepared, but the schedule for its transfer to Kyiv has not yet been approved. The last shipment of Italian weapons arrived in Ukraine 10 months ago.
The Italian government stressed that this does not mean it is abandoning aid altogether.
The transfer has been repeatedly postponed. Initially, the pause was explained by a shift in the timeline from July to September, then by the need to wait for the League party congress and now by the US midterm elections.
Quote: "The US political calendar has therefore become the new point of reference in this Italian period of waiting. However, there is no indication as to which election result might help bring about a decision, nor has a date been set for the aid to be dispatched immediately after the vote."
Details: Journalists said the delays in sending military aid to Ukraine are creating tensions within Palazzo Chigi, the Italian prime minister's office, and putting at risk commitments Meloni made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Italian government continues to state publicly that "support for Ukraine will continue". However, officials have given neither a delivery date nor a list of obstacles that must be overcome to unblock the package.
Background:
- Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini previously claimed that providing further aid to Ukraine could "fuel corruption".
- After being re-elected as party leader, Salvini publicly promised to do everything in his power to bring Italy's economic and military support for Ukraine to a complete halt.
- In response, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on 26 October that the new package had already been finalised and would soon be sent to Ukraine.
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