Given the course of events in Ukraine the past week, the Italian government, in concert with NATO, increasing military aid to Ukraine. It appears, however, that the Italian government is still grappling with the issues of removing Russia from Swift and what to do about energy sources. The below article yesterday from Il Giornale is translated by Fousesquawk.
*Note: The references to Palazzo Chigi in the text refer to the building that houses the prime minister and Council of Ministers in Rome.
Missiles, fighter (aircraft) and troops: Italy arms Kiev and reinforces the eastern flank
28 February 2022-17:24
The decree provides the transfer of arms to the Ukrainian army. The change of course also comes with the European commitment to direct military support for the forces of Kiev.
-Lorenzo Vita
Italian support for Ukraine continues to be more concrete and direct. Not only humanitarian, economic aid, and "non-lethal" equipment. Not just the deployment of troops near the hot border with Kiev and Moscow. The Italian government has decided to take a further step forward which, as explained (by) sources in the Palazzo Chigi to ANSA, will serve to "guarantee support and assistance to the Ukrainian people through the transfer of means, materials, and military equipment to government authorities of Ukraine". It has done so with the decree following the meeting of the Council of Ministers this afternoon, which unanimously opened the way. According to Agi, who had access to the decree, "Up to December 31, 2022, subject to a resolution by the chambers, the transfer of means, materials, and military equipment to the governmental authorities of Ukraine is authorized."
A choice that changes the picture of the Italian commitment which at least up to the decree of 25 (February), seemed orientated exclusively on the redeployment of its own forces in Europe and in the Mediterranean and on, "transfer to government authorities of Ukraine, free of charge, means, and materials of non-lethal military equipment, making equipment available for individual protection and for the Ukraine soldiers and materials for humanitarian demining for the civil population". As writes, Corriere della Sera, 12 million euros were allocated "for kevlar jackets, kevlar helmets, portable metal detectors, and robots for demining."
But the choice of accelerating the shipment of arms indicates that in the seats of NATO and the European Union, it has been decided that logistical support for Kiev and strategic pressure against Russia were not enough. And so Italy has followed up on the commitment already confirmed at the defense ministerial level of the European Union.
According to initial information, Italy will reportedly send Stinger missiles, Spike, Browning, and Mg automatic weapons, and corresponding ammunition. Arms that would be essential in the war scenario that has been created in these hours, with a conflict fought in large part in urban territory and in which anti-air and anti-tank capacity have particular importance. According to what is written in Il Messagero, the armed forces had already been organized in the last few days with the movement of diverse armaments in some military casernes and airports, ready to be sent to the Ukrainian front. The hope is that these arms will be available only to the regular forces and those trained by the Ukrainian army. But it is also possible to speculate that, in certain circumstances, these can be used by all those civilians who have responded to the general mobilization of the government of Volodymyr Zelensky.
The redeployment of Italian forces within NATO in all of Eastern Europe must be added to the shipment of arms. The decree of 25 (February) already said that Italy would confirm its 2021 commitment for all of 2022 and increase its own presence in various countries on the eastern flank of the alliance. The doubling of fighter planes in Romania, which will make 8 at the Constanta base, also includes the departure of the first 1,350 soldiers who will be assigned to missions in Latvia, Romania, the eastern Mediterranean, and the Black Sea (with two ships that already make up part of Atlantic (NATO) mission in the area), to which is also added the hypothesis of a possible deployment in Hungary. In addition, Italy has already raised the readiness of over 2,000 soldiers in the event NATO scenarios require a further commitment on the part of the member states.
For Rome, it is a choice not only of a contingency nature, but also clearly political. Last week, when the war still seemed distant, many in NATO and the European Union had accused Italy of (having ) a policy toward the Kremlin that was too soft. Weighing particularly heavy were the doubts of Palazzo Chigi on the questions of Swift and the energy connection. This latter theme also came up in the text of the just-approved decree, in which the possibility of using other energy sources and the eventuality of "measures to increase the supply and/or reduce the demand of gas provided for in cases of emergency, an eventuality which, at the moment does not correspond to that in which our country finds itself". This is the explanation from Palazzo Chigi reported by AdnKronos (news agency).
But the attack on Ukraine has changed the cards on the table, also in the perception of the risks. The statements of the (prime minister), Mario Draghi, on the aggression in Ukraine as "a barbaric act and a threat for all of Europe," for which, "the EU must react with the maximum firmness", have shown a change of course also on the part of Palazzo Chigi. The words of the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, Joseph Borrell, on the "furnishing of lethal material to the heroic Ukrainian army" and the announcement from Ursula Von der Leyen on military aid to Kiev have made it impossible for Rome to remain in limbo, and the turning point of the decree is also a very precise signal of the adhesion to the Atlantic (NATO) requests.
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