Conflict in Italy over the supply of arms to Ukraine

The issue of arms delivery to Ukraine led to a conflict between Giuseppe Conti, the leader of the Five Star Movement party, and Guido Crosseto, the country's defense minister, writes Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper.

According to the publication, Crosseto called Conti a "hooligan" because of his calls not to provide military assistance to Ukraine and to bring Kiev back to the negotiating table. For his part, Conti accused the minister of violating the principles of democracy through a sudden change of opinion on the issue of armaments.

In addition, Conti also questioned the legitimacy of Kiev's support, being surprised that Crosetto, co-founder of the Brothers of Italy party, which was in opposition before the elections on September 26 of this year, supports the same agreements as the Draghi government to deliver weapons to Ukraine. "These are solutions that we contested and that led to conflicts in the Parliament so that for months we did not discuss or vote on the issue of sending military aid and the Ukrainian crisis," he concluded.

The former Prime Minister Mario Draghi was previously dissatisfied with Conti's attitude, but without addressing him directly: "You cannot vote to send weapons and then say that you do not agree. Or, even worse, to be against arms delivery after already seeing the progress of the Ukrainian military on the front. How could Ukraine defend itself with empty hands?''

Recently, Ukraine received heavy artillery, self-propelled artillery mounts, M113 armoured personnel carriers, missile systems and cartridges of various calibers from Italy.