Italian Foreign Ministry says decision not to send military to Ukraine

Italy will not send a single soldier to Ukraine. This was stated by the head of the Italian Foreign Ministry Antonio Tajani on November 25.

"We will not send soldiers to fight in Ukraine. We help Kiev politically, financially and militarily by sending aid, but we will not send soldiers to fight in Ukraine. We must avoid escalation," the Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper quoted him as saying.

As "Gazeta.Ru" specified , this statement was made by Tajani against the background of media reports that France and the UK were holding discussions on the possible dispatch of Western military personnel.

On this day, Le Monde reported about the resumption of discussions in Europe about sending troops to Ukraine. According to the newspaper, these discussions have even "strengthened" in recent weeks, in particular due to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to France on Nov. 11.

Macron has repeatedly said that he has not ruled out the possible dispatch of military personnel. Back in May, he said that a condition for this would be a request from Kiev or a breakthrough of Russian troops on the front. According to him, the caution of European countries would "push Russia into an offensive." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called such talk very dangerous.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to defend Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.