The Kyiv Independent launches YouTube series
Skip to content
Edit post

Italy to deliver promised SAMP/T air defense system by end of September

by Abbey Fenbert September 17, 2024 11:08 PM 2 min read
The SAMP/T Mamba air defense system at Kuchyna Air Base, north of Bratislava, Slovakia, on April 19, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Joe Klamar / AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Italy will deliver a second SAMP/T air defense battery to Ukraine by the end of September, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on Sept. 17.

Italy promised in June to send Kyiv another SAMP/T system, the only European-made air defense system that can intercept ballistic missiles.

"By the end of the month the new Samp/T system will be delivered to Ukraine, and we know how much every minute of delay costs," Crosetto said at a conference on European air defense production, according to the Italian media outlet RAI.

The announcement comes over a week after President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Italy on Sept. 6. Zelensky said during the visit that Ukraine is grateful for the air defenses supplied by Western allies, but that they are still "not enough to secure our entire territory and repel every Russian attack."

Ukraine has lobbied international partners for more air defense capabilities in the wake of intensifying Russian strikes targeting energy infrastructure.

Previously, France and Italy jointly supplied Ukraine with a SAMP/T system back in 2023.

Ukraine's need for advanced air defense systems has become more urgent in light of Iran's recent transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia.

Italian media has also reported that Italy's next military aid package will include a batch of long-range Storm Shadow missiles along with the SAMP/T system, but officials have not confirmed these reports.

Ukraine’s air defense boosted by 17 IRIS-Ts, but Iranian ballistic missiles still a threat, experts say
Ukraine’s continued requests to Western allies for more air defenses were answered in part this week, with the announcement that Germany has ordered an additional 17 IRIS-T air defense systems for Kyiv. And the timing couldn’t be more critical – an ongoing campaign of aerial strikes on Kharkiv, dev…

News Feed

MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.