In statements published this Monday by the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, Conte confirmed that the recent revelation by this news agency about the presence of officers from Kiev in this nation for their training in the use of the Samp-T anti-missile system ” confirms a new escalation in this war conflict”.
“Step by step, rearmament after rearmament, we find ourselves completely in this war, without our government and Europe trying to find an alternative strategy to go down the path of negotiations and achieve a peaceful solution,” said the former prime minister.
“We must focus all our efforts on the diplomatic level because we risk finding ourselves in a third world war,” affirmed the M5S leader.
For his part, the top leader of the Italian Left Party, Nicola Fratoianni, stated that “unfortunately, I am not surprised that the Kiev soldiers are arriving” to train in that country’s Samp-T operation, as soon as we deliver such advanced technologies will soon be in the Send Ukraine.
“The problem is that we shouldn’t have gotten to this point, and this story shows how the path of escalation is self-feeding,” Fratoianni said.
Speaking for Italy, the politician added: “There is de facto involvement in the conflict and it seems clear to me that in the absence of any diplomatic initiative, only the path of arms will be taken.”
Last Sunday, Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that at least 20 Ukrainian soldiers are taking part in a training cycle in the use of the Samp-T missile defense system at the headquarters of the Italian Army’s Anti-Aircraft Artillery Command in the town of Sabaudia, in the Latina province, 95 kilometers south of Rome.
This medium stated that “the Peschiera 4 anti-aircraft artillery regiment based in Mantua, which has four operational Samp-T, is subordinate to the command of Sabaudia”, which explains why the exercises are carried out in these facilities.
In December last year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the training of Kiev soldiers on Italian territory, which was rejected by that country’s defense ministry.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated her government’s war support for that country in the conflict with Russia during a meeting with President Volodomir Zelenskyy in Kiev on February 21.
Meloni assured Zelensky that “we have been with you from the beginning and we will be with you to the end”, in full accordance with the positions of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and with this in mind “we have focused on the air defense systems Samp-T, Spada and Skyguard”.
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