Italian Parliament confirms Ukraine support. On Wednesday, MPs voted to commit the government to keep supporting Kyiv – in line with Rome’s commitments and allies – including through the transfer of military means, materials and equipment, as well as continued humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people.
- The majority’s motion also calls for “exerting all diplomatic efforts in all fora […] with the aim of putting an end to the conflict and the suffering of the Ukrainian people and achieving a just, lasting and balanced peace that restores world security and order in accordance with international law.”
- It also pushes the government to support “all initiatives for the economic, social, political and institutional reconstruction and restart of the Ukrainian nation in full synergy with the intentions of the European Union and Western allies.”
No peace without defence. The MPs’ vote followed a speech by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, who took stock of the almost two-year-long war and explained the need and the reasons for extending all manners of aid until year’s end, as provided for by a decree that must now go through Parliament. He also said that the government had recently greenlit sending Italy’s eight military aid package.
- “There is no just peace if an attacked people do not have the possibility of defending itself,” he remarked, noting that it would be a “dramatic strategic and political mistake to take a step back” at present.
- La disucssione si è svolta anche al Senato.
What the others voted. Three motions were approved in the Chamber of Deputies – one was the majority’s, one was penned by centrist parties, and one by the main opposition force, the Democratic Party. The latter highlighted the need to use “all available means” of aid (as opposed to the majority’s, which made explicit reference to the military aid), while the text from centrist forces Azione, Italia Viva and Più Europa committed the government to ensure that Russian assets frozen by sanctions are transferred to Ukraine.
- The Five Star Movement’s own motion, which was rejected, opposed sending more military aid to Kyiv – with its leader Giuseppe Conte later stating that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was “betting on Ukraine’s victory over Russia” and accusing her of fuelling an escalation, employing his usual Kremlin-adjacent rhetoric.
- The Greens’ text, which also called to interrupt weapons shipments to Ukraine, was also rejected.
