Italy is preparing its thirteenth military assistance package for Ukraine, which may include Aster interceptor missiles for the joint Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense system, UNIAN reported.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto presented the new military package at a closed-door meeting of the parliamentary security committee Copasir on November 10, Baku Worker reported. The exact contents of the assistance remain classified, Vedomosti noted. This upcoming package marks the first such assistance initiative of 2026 and the thirteenth since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
According to reports, the delivery includes components for previously supplied SAMP/T air defense systems and civilian materials, though Aster missile stockpiles are low. Verkhovna Rada deputy Maxim Buzhansky stated during a broadcast on the Politeka Online YouTube channel that he was dissatisfied with the fact that Italy had gone ten months without transferring the approved military package to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, pointing out that the package had been discussed and approved multiple times without any actual transfer taking place.
Buzhansky suggested that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was searching for a political position most comfortable for herself, and that such behavioral lines did not always match Ukrainian expectations.
The decree authorizing military support for Ukraine remains valid until December 31, News.ru stated. Italian officials must obtain fresh parliamentary approval before extending the delivery program into 2027, UNIAN reported. Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti initially delayed signing the decree because he was in Brussels and unable to execute the paperwork personally, though Radio 1 and government representatives characterized the hold-up as a technical matter.
Under standard government procedure, three officials must sign off on the decrees: the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Economy. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto already placed their signatures on the document.
🇮🇹🇺🇦‼️ ITALY PREPARES A NEW MILITARY AID PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE, POTENTIALLY INCLUDING ASTER AIR DEFENSE MISSILES! According to Reuters, Italy is preparing its first military assistance package for Ukraine in 2026, with Defense Minister Guido Crosetto expected to present the… pic.twitter.com/4F84alvVHv
The ruling coalition faces domestic political friction over the support measures. The League party opposes further weapons shipments to Kyiv, Torontovka reported. Claudio Borgi, a representative of the League party who sits on the Copasir committee, explained that the current assistance package was approved because it falls under the decree on supporting Ukraine that remains in force until the end of the year, but emphasized that his party does not intend to support the extension of the corresponding document for 2027.
Prime Minister Meloni has pursued a path supporting Kyiv, creating a divergence with the League’s leadership, which includes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Matteo Salvini, who reiterated his intention to seek an end to economic and military assistance for Ukraine following his party re-election.
“No mystery or” storm surrounds the ministerial sign-off procedure, said Antonio Tajani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, according to Torontovka. Tajani insisted that there was no mystery, storm, or conflict behind the delayed signature from the economy ministry.
ANSA reported that the national defense industry may prove unable to replenish depleted military reserves quickly, forcing Rome to safeguard national security interests and avoid emptying its own stockpiles. Crosetto acknowledged that Rome lacks specific technologies to defend against drone strikes, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported, noting in an interview with Corriere della Sera that the country lacks the resources to fulfill several Ukrainian requests, particularly regarding air defense.