At its sitting, the Council of Ministers of Italy has unanimously adopted a decree on the continuation of the weapons supply to Ukraine.

This was reported by the Italian edition of Corriere della Sera.

The provision of arms shall continue without the need for separate consent from Italian lawmakers.

According to this decree, the military machinery and equipment will be supplied to Kyiv for defense against the Russian invasion throughout 2023.

For the government decree to come into force, it must be approved by the Italian Parliament as well.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the administration of former Prime Minister Mario Draghi introduced measures allowing weapons to be sent to Kyiv without requesting permission of the parliament for each delivery.

This arrangement expires at the end of 2022, so the coalition supporting Prime Minister Georgia Maloney initially tried to extend it to December 31, 2023 by amending a government decree which is currently under parliamentary consideration.

However, the main opposition group, the center-left Democratic Party, complained that the decree in question was not directly related to Ukraine, and accused the government of violating parliamentary rules.

In response, Minister for Parliamentary Relations Luca Chiriani said the government would consider implementing this step through a separate decree, while ensuring its early approval.

In early November, a representative of the ruling coalition said that Italy was preparing the sixth package of weapons for Ukraine, including air defense systems, which Kyiv had asked for.

Guido Crosetto, Italian Defense Minister, promised to continue the supply of weapons in the time and ways agreed with NATO allies and the Ukrainian government.

The Democratic Party also supports Ukraine, while other left-wing opposition forces want the government to shift its focus from sending weapons to stepping up diplomatic negotiations.