2024-07-10 20:55:35
Italy will provide Ukraine with an additional SAMP/T air defense system to shoot down Russian missiles, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said last night on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Meloni made the announcement shortly after US President Joe Biden said his country would provide Kiev with Patriot air defense systems along with Romania and Germany.
“We’re really focused on the extremely important issue of air defense because it means mostly protecting civilians and critical infrastructure that Russia continues to attack, as we’ve seen with the stricken pediatric hospital in Kiev and the cancer-stricken children on the streets,” Meloni said. .
She added that Italy will increase its defense spending to 2% of GDP, as requested by the US and NATO, according to its own time frame and financial capabilities and given budget constraints, BTA writes.
The prime minister added that Italy “will remain true to its commitment” to spend 2% of GDP on defense, “taking into account the times and available opportunities”, but also taking into account “the country’s overall contribution to NATO”, in which it is “among the largest donors of personnel in almost all missions and peacekeeping operations because our expertise is in high demand.”