ROME, September 7 (RIA Novosti) – Italy is ready to supply Ukraine with military equipment, including body armor, La Repubblica newspaper reported Sunday, citing sources from the Italian Defense Ministry.
Italy is preparing a military aid package which will include non-lethal equipment supplies to Ukraine, such as body armor and helmets, the Italian newspaper writes.
Earlier on Sunday, advisor to the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Yuri Lutsenko, said on his Facebook page that agreements had been reached at the NATO summit in Wales to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine from several countries, including the United States, France, and Italy.
A Senior US official was quoted as saying by Reuters on Sunday that the United States did not make any “lethal assistance” offers to Ukraine.
During the September 4-5 NATO summit in Wales, Poroshenko said that the alliance would adopt a declaration on military and technical assistance to Kiev. Later, in an interview with BBC, Poroshenko confirmed that some NATO members promised to supply precision weapons to Ukraine, but refused to name them.
Ukraine has been immersed in an internal conflict since mid-April, when Kiev government forces launched a military operation in the country’s southeastern regions, which refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government.
Over 2,500 people have died as a result of the conflict, according to United Nations estimates.
