Russia-Ukraine War: arms shipments to kyiv unleash a political storm in Italy

Polls show that public opinion in Italy is becoming suspicious of the risk that the government’s delivery of weapons to Ukraine will lead to retaliation from Russia.

The question makes strong encounter between Prime Minister Mario Draghi and some of the political forces that support him, so the risk of “derailing” the broad alliance that brought Draghi to power in February 2021 was even discussed, in the middle of the pandemic that caused 165 thousand dead.

The prime minister was presented to the Senate on Thursday, at a tense political climate, a report on the war in Ukraine in which he commented on the plan for a ceasefire and the start of negotiations with the Russian invader, presented by Italy to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. This is the first country to take the initiative.

“To prevent the humanitarian crisis from escalating, we must reach a ceasefire and split the negotiations,” Draghi said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday rejected any offer of Russia’s truce before the invading forces left.

Draghi said that “Ukraine and not others will decide what peace can be accepted” to guarantee diplomatic negotiations, and commented that Italy supports the investigation of war crimes.

“Drones have identified four more mass graves with 9,000 bodies in Mariupol and other cities,” he warned.

The Italian Peace Proposal

The stages for opening peace negotiations on the Italian proposal are: accept the ceasefire and dismantle the military front, assign Ukraine a neutral status, address the status of the disputed regions and demand an estimate of sanctions against Russia which reassures Moscow and opens up. the way to a new balance of European security.

Draghi said that “Russia’s hopes of conquering the country in the short term collided with Ukraine’s resistance. Now, on the 85th day of the war, the Russian federation has retreated from large areas and is advancing more slowly than as expected. “

The Russians, the Italian chief said, focused their efforts on the Ukrainian east.

Draghi pointed out that sanctions are starting to be felt in Russia, where international expert organizations estimate that its wealth production this year will drop by 8.5% while inflation will grow to 21.3%.

Italy depends on between 35-40% on Russia’s gas imports, which like other European countries makes it a financier of Putin’s war.

Draghi said the goal is to get out of this situation as soon as possible and the government estimates that Russia will achieve independence from gas in the second half of 2024.

“The first effects of this process will be seen by the end of this year,” the premier calculated.

world food crisis

Draghi also said that the humanitarian value of the conflict is compounded by 7.7 million refugees immigrated abroad and the 14 million residents who had to leave their homes, “almost one citizen in three residents.”

The Italian Prime Minister commented on the danger of a global food crisis. “The price of food products has already reached a historic high”, a phenomenon that was reached before the Russian invasion, which has now exacerbated it.

The unrest in the Italian Senate was due to the critical vote in the Foreign Affairs committee after the ouster of its president, who was openly pro-Russian.

The 5 Star Movement fielded another candidate, but a right-wing deal with another minor party won Stefania Craxi, daughter of the late socialist leader and prime minister Bettino Craxi. Stefania is a senator for Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia party.

The leader of 5 Stars, former premier Giuseppe Conte, has released a series of criticism of his successor Mario Draghi, stating that he does not control the political forces as he should.

Berlusconi’s party and Matteo Salvini’s League were part of the government, but they voted against the 5-Star candidate.

Conte said a very serious incident had taken place, the “sudden formation of a new political majority.”

Conte is a lukewarm center-left ally in the Democratic party, the political force that gave Draghi the most support.

political tension

The tensions cause strong controversies and weaken the government. Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Northern League, a member of the center-right alliance but whose members secretly voted for Stefania Craxi’s candidacy, clings to the pacifist banner.

Although his consolidated relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has frustrated him, in a process of collapse that has caused his popularity to drop from 34% to 16% in two years, he Salvini continues to be considered the leader of the right, despite the fact that the Polls They give popular favor to the leader of the Brothers of Italy party, Giorgia Meloni, the only official opposition force.

After Draghi spoke, Salvini stood up and affirmed his position against the shipment of new arms shipments to Ukraine. “If anyone speaks about it,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Draghi, “I do not agree.”

Salvini praised the peace plan Draghi had made and presented to the United Nations, but his opponents feared it was aimed at tying his hand and foot to impotence.

Italy has not disclosed what weapons it is sending to Ukraine to avoid growing controversy and damage to public opinion if heavy weapons appear on the lists, such as long-range missiles, that could fall on Russian territory and open up a crisis.

Italia Viva leader and former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi spoke afterwards, stressing that “an epochal event is taking place, which is the reorganization of the geopolitical world.”

“Here there is a risk of going from the G20 (of which Argentina is a part) to the G2, with the monopoly leadership of the US and China.” Renzi refers to the theory of two geopolitical spheres of influence that according to many analysts were born from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Renzi invited the leaders of Italian parties to “overcome the attitude of permanent strife.”

For his part, the leader of the Democratic Party, Enrico Letta, is worried about the devastation caused by so many clashes.

“I end this day with a few more grams of concern. Incidents have piled up and so many incidents can derail the government machine. I call on all actors, starting with ourselves, to turn to -moderate the climate, “he warned.

Rome, correspondent

CB