Volodymyr Zelensky’s Ukraine must be allowed to use Western weapons to attack Russia on the territory of the federation, and Kiev’s allies must eliminate all restrictions on this point. The European Parliament is calling for this in a resolution adopted with 425 votes in favor, 131 against and 63 abstentions, which states that the restrictions hinder “Ukraine’s ability to fully exercise its right to self-defense under public international law and leave the nation exposed to attacks against its population and infrastructure”. Among Italians, both Fratelli d’Italia and Forza Italia and the Partito Democratico (with Cecilia Strada abstaining) voted in favor of the text, while Lega, Movimento 5 Stelle and the Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra voted against it.
The resolution
In the resolution, which is not binding but nevertheless has a strong political value, the Strasbourg Chamber also stresses that “insufficient supplies of ammunition and weapons and restrictions on their use risk undermining the efforts made so far” and therefore “deeply regrets the reduction in the financial volume of bilateral military aid to Ukraine by Member States”. MEPs reiterate their call on Member States to honour their commitment made in March 2023 to deliver one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine and to accelerate the delivery of weapons, air defence systems and ammunition, including Taurus missiles.
The Restrictions Amendment
In fact, Fratelli d’Italia had initially voted against the amendment that called for the removal of restrictions on the use of weapons in Russian territory, but once it passed it still voted in favor of the text as a whole, including that passage. Also against the amendment were some deputies from Pd (Benifei, Corrado, Decaro, Laureti, Ricci, Ruotolo, Strada, Zan and Zingaretti) and Forza Italia (Chinnici, De Meo and Tosi), who however then also voted in favor of the text as a whole.
Extend the sanctions
The resolution also calls on member states to maintain and extend the policy of sanctions against Russia, Belarus and non-EU countries and entities that supply Moscow with military and dual-use technologies. MEPs condemn the recent transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to the Federation and call for tightening of sanctions against Tehran and North Korea for their involvement in supporting the war wanted by President Vladimir Putin.
