Italy delays weapons transfer to Kyiv until US midterm election results

Decision postponed until November

Italian government leader Giorgia Meloni has paused the process of transferring a new complex of military equipment to Ukraine. According to Il Giornale d’Italia, the final decision on sending the aid was linked to the date of the midterm elections in the United States of America.

According to journalists, the weapons package itself is already prepared for transport. However, due to several postponements of deadlines, it has not yet been approved for dispatch on a specific date.

Timeline of postponements

The history of the delay has been ongoing for several months. The last delivery of Italian weapons to Ukraine took place ten months ago. Initially, it was planned to make a decision on the new package in July, but the deadlines were moved to September. Later, the deadline was shifted to the time of the "League" party congress. Currently, the key benchmark is the US Congress elections, scheduled for 3 November.

Uncertainty regarding next steps

It is currently unknown which specific voting result in the US could influence Rome's decision. There are also no official confirmations that the transfer of weapons will take place automatically immediately after the completion of the electoral process.