Italy intends to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine before the G7 summit on 13 June.
What will be included in the new aid package for Ukraine from Italy
According to the publication's sources in the executive branch, the ninth aid package from Italy will include ground-based anti-aircraft missile system (SAMP/T), an effective air defence system that Ukraine needs to protect its capital and major urban centres.
Italy has five such systems, and Rome intends to give Ukraine the system it lent to Slovakia. Some more systems will be used to protect the G7 summit venue.
The new aid package will also include artillery.
According to the newspaper's sources, Matteo Salvini Lega is opposed to the package, but it should get enough votes in parliament to be approved.
What is known about the transfer of SAMP/T air defence systems to Ukraine
SAMP/T is a medium-range ground-launched air defence system developed by the Franco-Italian Eurosam consortium.
The system is designed to protect battlefields and important tactical facilities (such as airports and seaports) from current and future air threats, including cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, and short-range ballistic missiles (up to 600 km).
In early March, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that Italy would withdraw the SAMP/T air defence system from the country.
According to him, strategic facilities, including nuclear power plants, remain unprotected. He added that the previous government had "gifted" Ukraine with a working Russian S-300 air defence system.
The Italian SAMP/T air defence system replaced the US Patriot last year. Slovakia provided Ukraine with the S-300 after Russia's large-scale invasion in 2022.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba said earlier that Ukraine has identified 100 air defence systems in allied countries and is asking for at least seven of them to be transferred to protect Ukrainian cities.
So far, only Germany has announced the urgent transfer of one Patriot system.
