Italian official warns of war fatigue, limited resources for Ukraine

ROME — The Italian government is running out of military equipment to send to Ukraine, just as domestic public opinion loses interest in supporting Kyiv, Italy’s defense minister said Wednesday.

Claiming Italy does not have “unlimited resources”, Guido Crosetto said Italy has “done almost all that it could do,” when it comes to sending weapons to Ukraine. ”There is not much more room,” for freeing up military supplies.

Crosetto’s claim follows growing doubts over the supply of U.S. arms to Ukraine due to Republican party opposition, just as Ukraine struggles to maintain the momentum of its counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Italy has firmly backed the defense of Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, and has dispatched seven packages of military kit, with Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani discussing an eighth package during a visit to Kyiv this month.

In a tweet Wednesday, Ukrainian defense minister Rustem Umerov said he had discussed with Crosetto Ukraine’s “urgent” need for long-range rockets and electronic warfare systems. In January, Italy said it was ready to supply Ukraine with its Samp-T air defense system — a truck-based tactical anti-missile system designed to tackle cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aircraft and tactical ballistic missiles.

Italy has not revealed what other kit has been sent, although Stinger surface-to-air missiles, mortars and Milan or Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons as well as Multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), Pzh2000 howitzers and vehicles were reportedly planned for consignment.

Tajani has said the first five packages of military aid were worth €1 billion (U.S. $1.05 billion). Now that Rome must replace Samp/T batteries and other equipment sent to Ukraine, it is also planning the purchase of 133 new Leopard 2 A8 combat version tanks from German firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, as well as spending nearly €900 million to upgrade its ageing Ariete tanks.

Both initiatives have been spurred by a new focus on land warfare and a need to keep up with NATO requirements since the invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, Italy must keep up the pace on spending on the new GCAP fighter it is developing with partners Japan and the United Kingdom.

Last month, reports that Japan and the UK would dominate design and manufacturing on the project drew a testy response from Rome, which said it would remain an equal partner.

An annual, multi-year spending document covering 2023-2025, which was due out before the summer and which gives a breakdown on which programs get what cash, has yet to be issued.

”This is evidence that spending priorities are still adjusting, in part due to the Ukraine war,” said one Italian analyst who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

A further problem facing defense officials is Italy’s struggling economy, which is putting pressure on the government to trim spending as it prepares its 2024 budget.

Defense minister Crosetto also warned about creeping war fatigue in Italy and throughout the West.

”Public opinion has veered away from the war with the passing of time because it has coincided with the increase of inflation and an industrial and production crisis which has worsened living conditions in Western democratic countries,” he said. ”Yesterday, we had a conference call with our allies in which I raised this problem: inflation, prices, energy, migration — they are all consequences of the conflict. They have an impact on citizens, which generates a resistance, or risks creating fatigue in public opinion.”

“If we want to defend Ukraine robustly, we also need to pay attention to these consequences,” he added.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利国防部长周三表示，意大利政府可用于援助乌克兰的军事装备即将耗尽，与此同时，国内舆论对支持基辅的兴趣也逐渐减弱。

圭多·克罗塞托声称意大利的资源并非“无限”，并表示在向乌克兰提供武器方面，意大利“几乎已经竭尽所能”。“腾出空间”来提供军事物资已经不多了。

克罗塞托的说法是在人们对美国向乌克兰供应武器的疑虑日益加深之际提出的，原因是共和党的反对，而此时乌克兰正努力保持其对俄罗斯军队的反攻势头。

自俄罗斯于 2022 年 2 月入侵乌克兰以来，意大利一直坚定支持乌克兰的国防，并已向乌克兰运送了七批军事物资。本月，意大利外交部长安东尼奥·塔亚尼在访问基辅期间讨论了第八批物资的运送事宜。

乌克兰国防部长鲁斯捷姆·乌梅罗夫周三在推特上表示，他已与克罗塞托讨论了乌克兰对远程火箭和电子战系统的“迫切”需求。今年1月，意大利表示准备向乌克兰提供其Samp-T防空系统——这是一种卡车式战术反导系统，旨在拦截巡航导弹、有人和无人驾驶飞机以及战术弹道导弹。

意大利尚未透露还运送了哪些其他装备，但据报道，计划运送的装备包括毒刺地对空导弹、迫击炮、米兰或铁拳反坦克武器以及多管火箭炮系统（MLRS）、Pzh2000榴弹炮和车辆。

塔亚尼曾表示，首批五批军事援助物资价值10亿欧元（约合10.5亿美元）。如今，罗马方面必须更换运往乌克兰的Samp/T反坦克导弹系统和其他装备，同时还计划从德国克劳斯-玛菲·韦格曼公司采购133辆新型豹2 A8战斗型坦克，并斥资近9亿欧元升级其老旧的阿里埃特坦克。

这两项举措的推出，都源于对陆战的新重视，以及自乌克兰战争以来为满足北约要求而必须采取的行动。此外，意大利还必须加快与日本和英国合作研发的新型GCAP战斗机的投入。

上个月，有报道称日本和英国将主导该项目的设计和制造，这引起了罗马方面的强烈回应，罗马方面表示将继续作为平等伙伴参与其中。

一份涵盖 2023-2025 年的年度多年支出文件，原定于夏季之前发布，其中详细列出了各个项目获得的资金数额，但至今尚未发布。

一位不愿透露姓名的意大利分析人士表示：“这表明支出重点仍在调整，部分原因是乌克兰战争。” 他表示，自己没有被授权公开谈论此事。

国防官员面临的另一个问题是意大利经济不景气，这给政府在制定 2024 年预算时削减开支带来了压力。

国防部长克罗塞托还警告说，意大利和整个西方国家都出现了战争疲劳的迹象。

他说：“随着时间的推移，公众舆论逐渐淡化了战争的影响，因为战争爆发的同时，通货膨胀加剧，工业和生产危机也导致西方民主国家的生活水平恶化。昨天，我们与盟友举行了电话会议，我在会上提出了这个问题：通货膨胀、物价上涨、能源短缺、移民潮——这些都是冲突的后果。它们对民众造成了影响，引发了民众的抵触情绪，或者说，有可能使公众舆论感到厌倦。”

“如果我们想有力地捍卫乌克兰，我们也需要关注这些后果，”他补充道。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。