Italy has approved a new decree extending military aid to Ukraine for 2026, despite earlier indications of a shift toward humanitarian-only support, according to ANSA. The government passed the measure after political friction within the coalition, Christmas-period negotiations, and pressure from Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League pro-Russian populist party.
Cabinet passes decree despite League resistance
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet confirmed the approval of the one-year extension, which authorizes Italy’s 13th aid package to Ukraine, ANSA reported on 29 December. The move came despite pushback from the right-wing Lega per Salvini Premier party, which has publicly opposed further military assistance and instead demanded a focus on civilian help. Earlier, Deputy Head of the Prime Minister’s Office Alfredo Mantovano described ongoing work on a "transitional decree" that would prioritize mostly non-military support.
While the final decree does include humanitarian elements — such as logistics, healthcare, and power grid reconstruction — it does not represent the full shift away from weapons that had been previously discussed. The League had pressed for “defensive strategy” over offensive weaponry, citing concerns about alleged corruption in Ukraine and calling for aid that protects civilians and supports basic needs. Salvini argued in the lead-up to the vote that “rather than sending weapons to attack and destroy, we must focus on how to protect civilians, how to keep them warm, and how to treat them.”
Meloni, who leads the Brothers of Italy party, responded with carefully worded public messaging. In her holiday message to the Italian armed forces, she cited the Roman phrase si vis pacem, para bellum — if you want peace, prepare for war — insisting it was “not a warmongering message” but a practical one.
“Only credible military force can avert war,” she explained, adding that diplomacy and dialogue “must be based on solid foundations.”
Broader strategic unity emphasized
In the context of ongoing Western support for Kyiv, Meloni emphasized the importance of alignment between European allies, Ukraine, and the US. She commented on a recent call with European partners, stating that “never before has it been more necessary to maintain unity of opinion” to bring the nearly four-year-long conflict to an end.
“Only through this solid unity of opinion can Russia be held accountable for its responsibilities and encouraged to demonstrate a genuine willingness to sit at the negotiating table,” she said.
The League, meanwhile, positioned itself closer to US President Donald Trump’s public efforts to push for signing a Kyiv-Moscow peace deal, describing the war as “a senseless massacre” that “no one will win on the ground.”
