Italy will send a sixth aid package to Ukraine, though its defense minister is quick to remind us who Putin and Russia truly are.
EU member states keep providing Ukraine with vital resources to sustain its war effort against Russia. Italy, which went through a government change in recent months, does not shy away from the rest of the continent.
Mario Draghi, former Italian prime minister, sent five aid packages to the war torn country, including one for the reconstruction of the Mariupol Opera Theater. He, however, lost his post in the summer following a chaotic government crisis.
His successor, conservative leader Giorgia Meloni, immediately put rumors of her support of Putin as soon as she took office. Despite being allied to Silvio Berlusconi, a former Italian Prime Minister and Putin sympathizer, she immediately started a diplomatic campaign of support to Ukraine.
She conducted several phone calls with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, going as far as to invite him for a formal visit to Rome. Meloni even promised herself she would eventually visit Kyiv.
Though, her concrete foreign policy moves were rather slow, due to an impending financial deadline for 2023 Italy’s budget. Now that the Italian parliament is in the process of approving the budget, however, Giorgia Meloni can safely focus on the Ukraine aid package.
Italian defense minister Guido Crosetto told the press that the sixth package will help the reconstruction of civilian infrastructures destroyed by Russian bombing campaigns. This move is aligned to Europe’s €18 billion loan to Ukraine that will be delivered in 2023.
A possible nuclear war?
At the end of his speech, Guido Crosetto mentioned the possibility of nuclear war once again. “The use of tactical nuclear weapons is planned by Russia,” he said. “For us, this is unthinkable, but for Moscow yes, if the point of no return is passed, if they risk losing. In short, the danger is potentially there, although very unlikely.”
Talks of a possible nuclear strike by Russia became increasingly less frequent since Putin’s annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories in September. At the time, many feared that the Ukrainian counter-offensive would trigger a Russian nuclear response, as “core Russian territory” would have formerly been attacked.
Putin himself said it was “no bluff”, and even US president Joe Biden warned about a possible “nuclear armageddon” coming. It turned out that Putin was, indeed, bluffing, trying to discourage Ukraine from counter-attacking further.
But no nuclear weapon was launched when the Kerch bridge in Crimea was bombed, and neither was it when Ukrainian troops entered a liberated Kherson.
But Crosetto reminded us that if we pull a string too much, it will eventually snap. Putin could tolerate the liberation of the Ukrainian territory until 2021 borders, and perhaps even Crimea. But everything beyond that will be a step closer to nuclear war.
