The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported, citing diplomatic sources in Washington, that the United States is pressuring Rome to provide Ukraine with air defense systems and weapons as soon as possible.
According to the publication, we are talking about SAMP-T anti-aircraft missile systems.
The newspaper points out that the document, which is expected to be adopted earlier this year, needs further study and preparation. At the same time, the publication notes that Washington insists on its speedy completion.
According to the publication, Italy has five active SAMP-T air defense batteries.
In addition, according to the publication, the supply of Italian equipment to Kyiv has slowed down. The number of Air Force cargo flights to the Polish Air Force base in Rzeszow has been significantly reduced.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan recently spoke on the phone with Francesco Tallo, diplomatic adviser to Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, and discussed with her the conflict in Ukraine, in particular the supply of arms to Kyiv, the newspaper reported.
Earlier, on Friday, the US authorities announced the allocation of another package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of more than $3 billion, and the package will include, in particular, tracked infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and self-propelled howitzers. Before that, Germany announced that it intends to supply Marder infantry fighting vehicles to the Kyiv authorities, and France is going to send AMX-10 RC wheeled tanks to Ukraine.
Source: TASS