Mystery on the weapons decree for Kiev, Giorgetti does not sign it

There is mystery in the government over the thirteenth aid package for Ukraine which will be presented in the next few hours to Copasir by Defense Minister Guido Crosetto. The Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti does not sign the new measure as required by the procedures. League sources, in confirming that the minister did not put his signature on the provision, underline that today the head of the Economy was on a mission to Brussels. Already in recent days Matteo Salvini had reiterated his opposition to the measure. A delicate issue therefore opens up in the majority on this issue which could lead to a clash with implications yet to be deciphered.

The list of the measure will not only include aid to Ukrainian civilians, such as generators, but also weapons for anti-aircraft defense. Crosetto had already clarified a few days ago to the Senate that he will propose "the possibility of extending the decree mechanism" also for next year as has been the case since 2022, since four law decrees were approved to militarily support Kiev: launched in the Council of Ministers, those framework measures were converted into law by the Chambers, allowing the sending of twelve military aid packages with as many inter-ministerial measures in four years, for which instead it is only necessary to explain them to the Parliamentary Committee for the security of the Republic, as will happen tomorrow. This is a mechanism - as the Minister of Defense had always specified - which was not initially decided by the Meloni government, but chosen and voted for by the Draghi government and "practically all the parties of the current minority and majority".

Therefore the government will maintain the line it has followed in these four years, despite the opposition of the League, in particular Salvini. For the next package, classified like all the others, it is very possible to send components useful for air defense - this is the main request coming from Ukraine, under continuous Russian bombing - given that the Italian-French Samp-T battery has already been supplied in the past. There could therefore be a dispatch of Aster missiles that arm the system.

Last week Crosetto also specified that over time the threats have become limited and Kiev is asking for "things that are not available. The intensity of the packages has therefore been reduced precisely because, as time passed and aid was sent, the things that were really needed were no longer there and were difficult to send". But the commitment remains firm: "We will respect the pacts we have made with our European NATO allies, with the Ukrainian group and with Ukraine", the minister added, explaining that this package was prepared because the situation on the ground in Ukraine has changed profoundly, which until recently managed to stop 90% of attacks while now it stops 10%, because Russian technology has evolved exponentially while the speed of the new Shaed drones makes it difficult, often impossible, stop them. So Ukraine's request has also changed.