Italy has shipped Storm Shadow missiles and SAMP/T air defense systems while pledging $1.5 billion for 2025 along—arming Ukraine with significant firepower while keeping the spotlight off itself.
Yevheniia Martyniuk
April 20, 2025
Euromaidan Press
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni—one of the few EU leaders with close ties to Donald Trump—has emerged as a key player in shaping Ukraine’s security future. She has proposed NATO-style guarantees for Ukraine without full membership, aiming to provide strong defense assurances while avoiding geopolitical escalation. Her recent visits to the London summit of the “coalition of the willing” and to Washington, where she met with Trump, underscore Italy’s rising diplomatic role in the war.
On 24 February 2024, the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Italy and Ukraine signed a landmark ten-year Security Cooperation Agreement. Italy became the fifth G7 country, after the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Canada, to formalize a long-term commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and defense. Since then, Italy’s support has been both robust and multidimensional.
Key Highlights:
- Under the agreement, Italy committed to military aid, troop training, sanctions against Russia, and support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
- It has delivered 10 defense aid packages, including SAMP/T air defense systems, Storm Shadow missiles, and Puma armored vehicles, and has joined international coalitions on demining and cybersecurity.
- In 2024, Italy and the EU launched the ERA initiative, unlocking $50 billion in loans for Ukraine using revenue from frozen Russian assets. Italy also contributed to troop training through the EU’s EUMAM mission.
- Beyond defense, Italy has supported energy infrastructure repair, healthcare services, and the reconstruction of Odesa, while actively participating in efforts to hold Russia accountable.
In cooperation with the Ukrainian think tank Dnistrianskyi Center, Euromaidan Press publishes an English-language adaptation of Dariia Cherniavska’s analysis examining the depth and impact of Italy’s evolving support for Ukraine.
Discreet but decisive aid
Italy’s bilateral security agreement with Ukraine outlines ten specific areas of cooperation:
- Supply of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine
- Cooperation in the defense-industrial sector
- Use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine
- Training and education of Ukrainian military personnel
- Sanctions against Russia and its allies
- Non-military security and civil protection
- Demining of Ukrainian territories
- Support for energy infrastructure
- Humanitarian aid and reconstruction support
- Accountability for Russia’s aggression
What the deal covers
Italy has taken a notably discreet approach to its military support, maintaining confidentiality around specific details while steadily delivering crucial assistance. Throughout 2024, Italy sent two comprehensive military aid packages to Ukraine, bringing the total to ten since the war began. Among the most significant contributions was a second SAMP/T air defense system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, complementing the first system jointly supplied with France in early 2023.
Though specifics remain classified for security reasons, intelligence sources indicate that Italy’s military assistance includes M109 self-propelled howitzers, long-range Storm Shadow missiles, Puma armored personnel carriers, and essential ammunition supplies. Italy has demonstrated a continued commitment by allocating over $1.5 billion to military support programs in 2025.
Beyond individual contributions, Italy has strengthened its role in multinational defense initiatives, joining several capabilities coalitions focused on naval assets, integrated air and missile defense, and drones. The country has also stepped into a leadership position as co-leader of the Armored Vehicles Coalition, coordinating efforts to enhance Ukraine’s ground capabilities.
Defense ties for the long haul
Rather than limiting support to immediate needs, Italy has laid the groundwork for sustainable defense cooperation. Five major Italian defense companies—Leonardo, Fincantieri, Elettronica, Iveco Defense Vehicles, and FAE Group—joined the Defense Industries Alliance in late 2023, signaling readiness to strengthen Ukraine’s defense industrial capacity.
Throughout 2024, this commitment evolved from planning to action. Both countries agreed to enhance cooperation in air defense, electronic warfare, and UAV production, with discussions advancing toward establishing joint Ukrainian-Italian defense enterprises. By January 2025,
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto confirmed the intention to launch these joint ventures, marking a shift toward long-term strategic partnership beyond emergency assistance.
Creative financial support
Under Italy’s G7 presidency in 2024, the country demonstrated financial leadership by spearheading the “Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine” (ERA)—an innovative $50 billion loan program funded by income from frozen Russian central bank assets. This initiative represented a strategic approach to supporting Ukraine while ensuring Russia indirectly finances reconstruction efforts.
The program gained momentum when the EU approved up to €35 billion in loans for Ukraine, with the first €3 billion tranche disbursed in January 2025 to support priority state expenditures. Beyond collective initiatives, Italy began direct talks with Ukraine on using revenue from frozen Russian assets under Italian jurisdiction to purchase air defense systems from Italian manufacturers, creating a dual benefit for both countries.
Training and cyber defense
Italy’s support extends beyond equipment, including crucial knowledge transfer and capacity building. As a participant in the EU’s EUMAM Ukraine training mission, Italian instructors have trained Ukrainian personnel at facilities across Italy, Poland, and Germany. By the end of 2024, this collective effort had prepared over 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers, with Italy contributing to training at least 170 command structures and units from newly formed brigades.
On the digital front, Italy has bolstered Ukraine’s cybersecurity through participation in both the IT Coalition and the Tallinn Mechanism. These collective efforts raised over €482 million for Ukraine’s IT infrastructure and cyber defense, with an additional €200 million allocated through the Tallinn Mechanism to reinforce critical digital systems against increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.
Sanctions and justice
As an EU member, Italy has helped tighten the economic vice on Russia through three major sanctions packages between February 2024 and February 2025. The measures targeted Russia’s military sector, energy industry, and individuals involved in war crimes, including those responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children.
The most significant sanctions developments included:
- The 15th package targeting 52 vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet, chemical plants, defense companies, and the military unit responsible for shelling the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital
- The 16th package announced on 24 February 2025, sanctioning 74 more shadow fleet ships and 53 commercial entities supporting Russia’s defense sector
- Extension of sanctions to third-country entities in China, India, UAE, Singapore, and Uzbekistan that supply Russia’s military industry.
Beyond economic measures, Italy has supported efforts to establish a tribunal to prosecute the Russian leadership for aggression. During its G7 presidency, Italy also actively engaged in efforts to return Ukrainian children forcibly deported by Russia, helping reunite nearly 600 children with their families in 2024 alone.
Rebuilding what was lost
Italy has made substantial investments in Ukraine’s physical recovery, allocating at least €200 million to restore energy infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes and contributing an additional €13 million to Ukraine’s Energy Support Fund. In partnership with the EBRD, Italy launched a €200 million program for Ukrhydroenergo, providing a €100 million subsidized loan for critical equipment purchases for two hydroelectric plants. A separate €2 million collaboration with UNEP focuses on integrating renewable energy into Ukrainian cities’ power systems.
The Italian commitment to Ukraine’s recovery extends to healthcare, with programs training over 130 medical professionals through an International Medical Partnership and continuing to treat wounded Ukrainians. In autumn 2024, Italy directed €160,000 to Kyiv’s National Cancer Institute, part of over €320 million in direct budget support covering essential social and humanitarian needs.
Italy has also taken a targeted approach to reconstruction by “adopting” Odesa for rebuilding efforts, including the restoration of the historic Transfiguration Cathedral damaged by a Russian missile. This partnership extends to demining initiatives, with Italy funding specialized equipment and supporting local production of PT-300 D:MINE demining machines through FAE Group.
Planning the recovery
As Ukraine moves toward recovery, Italy continues to deepen its support with forward-looking initiatives. The country will host the Ukraine Recovery Conference in July 2025, creating a platform to accelerate reconstruction efforts. Drawing on its own successful experience with the “Made in Italy” initiative, Italy has committed to promoting “Made in Ukraine” products globally, helping rebuild not just infrastructure but economic opportunity.
Italy’s commitment to Ukraine represents a comprehensive approach that spans immediate defense needs, economic support, and long-term recovery planning. This partnership has evolved from a crisis response to a strategic alliance built to endure well beyond the current war.
Part of a bigger network
Italy’s bilateral security agreement with Ukraine exists within a comprehensive international support structure. By February 2025, Ukraine had secured 29 bilateral security agreements: 27 with signatories of the G7 Joint Declaration, one with the European Union, and another with Croatia, which formalized its support through a separate pathway despite not joining the G7 declaration.
These agreements originate from the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine launched on July 12, 2023, during the NATO summit in Vilnius. This declaration established the foundation for
coordinated, long-term international commitment to Ukraine’s defense capabilities and reconstruction efforts. It created a unified approach, allowing each partner country to tailor its contributions.
Yevheniia Martyniuk is an editor at Euromaidan Press. She got her Political Science and Journalism degrees at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.