In Parliament

Ukraine, Italy confirms support for Kiev. Two Lega deputies vote no. Crosetto: 'Someone is ashamed to help Kiev'

The Defence Minister addressed the House on Thursday morning, 15 January, for communications on Ukraine. In the afternoon the reply in the Senate

by Rome Editorial Staff

15 January 2026

Il ministro alla Difesa Guido Crosetto è intervenuto alla Camera per comunicazioni in materia di proroga dell’autorizzazione alla cessione di mezzi, materiali ed equipaggiamenti militari in favore delle autorità governative dell’Ucraina

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Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Crosetto: 'Discontinuing support for Kiev is a renunciation of peace'
"Some are ashamed of helping Kiev, I am proud of it"
"Surreal talk of sending European soldiers"
Centre-right solution: continue support for Kiev with NATO, EU and G7

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate approved the majority resolution on Kiev that commits the government 'to continue to support Ukraine, in coordination with NATO, the European Union, the G7 countries, and international allies, through a contribution consistent with the commitments undertaken and aimed at the defence of the population, critical infrastructures, and in perspective the overall security of the European continent'. The document also commits to 'enhancing the strengthening of civil aid'. The term 'military' support is not included in the commitment, but appears in the preamble.

Two MEPs voted against the resolution. They were Rossano Sasso and Edoardo Ziello. "Lexical acrobatics aside, the substance has not changed," Ziello explained. At Palazzo Madama, "the senators present from the Lega group voted in favour and in a compact manner. Senator Borghi did not take part in the vote,' specified Massimiliano Romeo, leader of the League's group in the Senate.

"The decree-law approved by the government guarantees continuity to a commitment that Italy has taken on with seriousness and consistency since the first day of Russian aggression," said Defence Minister Guido Crosetto in his speech at Montecitorio for communications on Ukraine. "And we are doing so in a delicate phase, which many define as one of transition. Marked by the multiplication of contacts and signs of a possible opening of negotiations that we all hope for. The prospect of a stable and lasting peace sees us not only in favour but active and participating in the first person as a nation. When we speak of peace, the greatest danger is to mistake a wish for reality. Peace does not come because we invoke it. Nor because public opinion is tired of war. Peace is built with hard work, with firmness and with lucidity. With responsibility and hard work. That maybe one day you see it destroyed and you have to start rebuilding".

So after the speech, it was the turn of the general debate and the Defence Minister's reply ('it is objectively an element of weakness that Europe does not have a united voice in foreign policy,' Crosetto said on that occasion, 'because Callas can go around, but if Macron arrives and says something else, what Callas said doesn't count'. Then there are the opinions on the resolutions presented, the explanations of vote and the vote. In the afternoon the minister will address the Senate.

Crosetto: 'Discontinuing support for Kiev is a renunciation of peace'

"Stopping support and aid to Ukraine today would mean giving up peace before having built it," Crosetto stressed. "Supporting Ukraine does not mean wanting to prolong the conflict, it means preventing the end of hostilities from turning into an apparent and fragile peace, built on injustice and destined to break down again," the minister continued.

"Some are ashamed of helping Kiev, I am proud of it"

'There are no good or bad means, but there are means that can be used in a negative or positive way,' stressed Crosetto. 'A weapon is a bad thing when it is used against someone, but when a weapon prevents another weapon from falling on a hospital, on a power station or on a building, it is a different thing. The spirit with which Italy has helped Ukraine so far has been to prevent those who want to destroy the Ukrainian population and to bend it to do so. Of this some of you will be ashamed, I feel proud'. A message to Matteo Salvini's Lega, which, as part of the ruling coalition, is holding back on further support for Kiev.

"Surreal talk of sending European soldiers"

According to the defence chief, it is 'surreal' to discuss today a European intervention in Ukraine after a possible ceasefire, without considering that any ceasefire would have to be accepted by Russia. In his reply to the House, at the end of the debate on arms supplies to Kiev, Crosetto noted that people keep talking about what Europe should do "the day after the truce", hypothesising a presence on the ground, when it is known that one of the conditions that Moscow could set would be precisely the rejection of any European military presence in Ukraine. In this framework, he said, the confrontation risks becoming unrealistic.

Centre-Right: continue support for Kiev with NATO, EU and G7

"To continue to support Ukraine, in coordination with NATO, the European Union, the G7 countries, and the international allies, through a contribution consistent with the commitments undertaken and aimed at the defence of the population, critical infrastructures, and in perspective the overall security of the European continent". This is one of the commitments contained in the majority resolution on the occasion of Crosetto's communication on the Ukraine decree. The commitment is also proposed 'to continue Italy's diplomatic action, working to encourage initiatives aimed at a ceasefire and the completion of the ongoing negotiation process, leading to a just and lasting peace, based on respect for Ukraine's sovereignty in deciding its own future; to strengthen Italy's contribution to Ukraine's energy resilience, reconstruction, development and macro-financial stabilisation initiatives, in coordination with the G7 donor platform, including through forms of industrial cooperation and strategic partnerships, with a view to European security, cooperation and growth, and by facilitating the involvement of our entrepreneurial fabric, included in the EU programmes currently being implemented to guarantee adequate information to Parliament on the implementation of the decree and on the developments in the ongoing international negotiations, ensuring full respect for parliamentary prerogatives and transparency within the limits imposed by the necessary protection of classified information; to enhance the strengthening of civilian, health, logistical and humanitarian aid, meeting the need to protect the population and essential infrastructure, in line with the sensitivities expressed by Parliament as a whole'.