France, Italy reportedly opt out of US-NATO arms deal for Ukraine
France and Italy will not take part in a new NATO-led initiative to finance the delivery of U.S. weapons to Ukraine, Politico and La Stampa reported on July 16, citing undisclosed government officials in both countries.
Despite being a long-standing supporter of Ukraine, France has opted out of the plan, which was unveiled during U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington on July 14.
Under this scheme, NATO will purchase advanced arms from the U.S., including air defense systems, and deliver some of them to Ukraine.
According to two French officials, France declined to join the plan because of President Emmanuel Macron's push for European nations to strengthen their own defense industries by purchasing domestically produced arms.
France is also contending with budget constraints and rising defense spending targets amid broader economic pressures, Politico wrote.
Italy, meanwhile, has taken a similar position. According to La Stampa, Italian officials ruled out direct purchases of U.S. weapons, citing fiscal limitations and the country's focus on different technological systems, such as the Italian-French-made SAMP/T air defense system already supplied to Ukraine.
Italian Defense Ministry sources stressed that the decision should not be seen as a lack of support for Ukraine, but rather as a call to explore alternative ways to contribute to the broader effort.
According to La Stampa, Italy is currently assessing a NATO request to support the logistical transport of U.S.-supplied weapons to Ukraine — whether by air, rail, or sea — and has signaled it will not "shy away" from contributing. The specific nature and scale of Italy’s commitment have yet to be determined.
Commenting on the NATO-U.S. weapons funding plan, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski argued that the cost of arming Ukraine should not fall on European taxpayers but be covered by Russia's frozen assets instead.
"I asked my fellow foreign ministers: Who should pay for American equipment? Should it be European taxpayers, or, in my opinion, should the aggressor pay for it using its frozen funds?" Sikorski said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, according to the Polish Press Agency.
The new arms plan for Ukraine will include new air defenses for Ukraine, which Kyiv has been asking for weeks, as Russia intensified its attacks against Ukrainian cities. The initiative was pitched by Germany and Rutte, and is seen as a workaround to Trump's hesitance to send direct U.S. aid, according to Politico.
Germany is "massively" invested in the plan, said Rutte, adding that Trump's support came after extensive coordination with Berlin. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has emphasized that the initiative serves Europe's own interests and increases pressure on Russia to negotiate peace.
Other European countries — including the U.K., the Netherlands, and several Nordic nations — have backed the arrangement.
Trump said on July 15 that additional deliveries of Patriot air defense missiles and other weapons are already underway.
