Italy supplies Ukraine with weapons only for use within the country's borders, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on May 7, according to the ANSA news agency.
His statements came after U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Ukraine had a right to use the weapons provided by London to strike targets inside Russia, to which Moscow responded with threats to hit back at "any British military equipment in or outside Ukraine."
"All the military materiel we send is destined to be used only inside the territory of Ukraine. We don't give materiel that can be used beyond Ukraine's borders. We are not at war with Russia," Tajani said.
When asked about French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks on the possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine, the Italian minister said he does not think "Macron wants to make war on Russia."
Tajani said that Rome is "against sending troops to fight against the Russians," echoing the statement by Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.
Ukraine has continued to press its Western allies for longer-range weapons, but partners have hesitated about delivering arms that could potentially be used to strike within Russian territory.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Kyiv will not use weapons supplied by foreign partners to hit targets outside of the country’s borders. Such restrictions do not apply to domestically produced arms, some of which are reportedly capable of striking deep into Russia.
Some of Ukraine's allies have sent weapons to Kyiv with no restrictions on strikes inside Russia, according to Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze.
Ukraine has received long-range missiles, such as the Storm Shadow from the U.K. and the French-made SCALP. It was reported on April 25 that the U.S. had secretly sent more than 100 long-range ATACMS missiles to Kyiv.
Ukrainian forces reportedly successfully used them to strike targets on the Russian-occupied territories, including Crimea.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
