A dispute broke out in the Italian government over aid to Ukraine

A dispute has erupted within the Italian government over further aid to Ukraine amid a corruption scandal in the Ukrainian energy sector. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said further support could “fuel corruption”, while Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called the suspension of aid “absurd”.

Reuters reports this .

Salvini, known for his long-standing pro-Russian rhetoric, used the latest news from Ukraine as an argument against further funding for Kyiv. He said he “does not want the money of Italian workers and pensioners to go to fuel corruption.” The politician also claims that additional arms supplies to Ukraine “will not improve the situation” and that “it is in everyone’s interest to stop the war.”

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto disagreed with the deputy prime minister’s position. He stressed that ending support for Kyiv would be an “absurd decision,” and recalled that Italian aid is aimed at protecting civilians suffering from Russian attacks. “I don’t judge a country by two corrupt officials,” he added.

The disagreements in the Italian government have emerged amid ongoing discussions in Europe about how to respond to internal events in Ukraine while maintaining stable military and financial support for Kyiv.

It was previously reported that Ukraine’s European partners are demanding from Kyiv clear guarantees of the transparent use of financial assistance after the discovery of a large-scale corruption scheme in the state-owned company Energoatom.

As a reminder, the Cabinet of Ministers suspended the competition for the position of head of the strategic state enterprise “GTS Operator” due to an investigation into a corruption scheme at Energoatom.

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