Italy’s leaders oppose Ukraine’s strikes on Russia with Western weapons

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke against the use of Western weapons provided to Ukraine for strikes on Russian territory. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also reacted to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's statement.

The ANSA agency writes about this.

"We have to be very judicious. NATO should not send a signal that it is giving in. But there have been many questionable statements. I advise more judiciousness," Meloni said.

Before that, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the members of the Alliance should cancel the restrictions that prohibit Ukraine from hitting military facilities in Russia with Western weapons.

"It is time for the Allies to consider whether they should lift some of the restrictions they have imposed on the use of the weapons they have provided to Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.

In his opinion, this issue is critical now, during the Russian offensive on the border of the Kharkiv region, since the impossibility of using Western weapons against military targets on the territory of Russia makes it difficult for Ukrainians to defend themselves.

Meloni said she "doesn't know why Stoltenberg would say something like that."

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said, "Stoltenberg must correct himself and apologize or resign."

He also added:

"We have to defend the attacked Ukraine, and we are doing it from the first minute, but we are not fighting against anyone. I do not want to leave the Third World War to my children. NATO cannot force us to kill in Russia, and no one can force us to send Italian soldiers to perish in Ukraine. This gentleman either apologizes, corrects himself, or resigns."

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also reacted to the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's statement.

"We are an inseparable part of NATO, but every decision must be made collegially," Tajani said.

At the same time, the Italian minister said, "Kyiv's choice is Kyiv's choice."

Tajani emphasized that the Italian weapons supplied to Ukraine should be used only inside the country.

Nicola Fratoianni from the "Left Green Alliance" generally stated that the NATO Secretary General uses "irresponsible and dangerous words."

"We are far from being a point of balance; we are facing another step towards military escalation. This is true madness, which puts the world on the brink of nuclear war," he wrote on social networks.

For reference:

Since the outset of Russia's full-scale invasion, the USA has prohibited Ukraine from using American weapons to hit the territory of the Russian Federation.

Recently, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published a conclusion that if it were not for this ban, the Russian Federation's new offensive in the north of the Kharkiv region would not have been so successful. According to analysts, the US restrictions on Ukraine's ability to strike military targets in Russia have created shelters in the border areas of the Russian Federation, from where Russian aircraft can launch planned bomb and missile strikes on Ukrainian positions and populated areas.

President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that the possibility of using Western weapons on the territory of Russia is not an offensive but the protection of Ukrainians.

Also, the Helsinki Commission of the USA stated that the United States of America should allow Ukraine to strike with American weapons against the forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the border areas of Russia.

However, the Pentagon said that American weapons are intended for use on the territory of Ukraine.

In turn, the head of the Pentagon said that the US expects Ukraine to use the provided weapons on its territory.

Ukraine already has permission to attack Russia with weapons provided to it by Lithuania, Finland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Great Britain.