The Minister of Defense of Italy was cautious about the possibility of his country supplying air defense systems to Ukraine, as demanded by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Reuters reports.

Guido Crozetto, Minister of Defense of ItalyPhoto: Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse/Shutterstock Editorial/Profimedia

“The systems will be provided ‘if possible,'” Guido Crosetto told Il Messaggero newspaper. “However, if we give Ukraine air defense missiles, we must take them from our stocks, and we must do it without wasting them and be sure. their quality,” he added.

Crozetto told Reuters this month that the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense system was among the military assistance Kyiv was requesting from Rome.

Zelenskyi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney spoke on Tuesday, after which the Kyiv leader tweeted that Rome was considering providing air defense systems.

He is pressuring Ukraine’s Western allies to increase military aid to help counter three months of Russian missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Under former Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy sent five aid packages to Kyiv, including a military one, and Maloney’s government is working on a possible sixth delivery.

Maloney, who took office in October, has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv, despite friction over the issue within his ruling coalition and a strong pacifist element among public opinion at home.

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