Trump 'completely wrong' to restrict support for Ukraine, Italian minister tells BBC

BySarah Rainsford Eastern and Southern Europe correspondent, Reporting fromRome.

Key points

• Trump agreed the accord with Vladimir Putin, blaming Kyiv's own attacks on Russian refineries for rising fuel costs.
• Despite widespread public scepticism, Meloni's Italian administration has been a robust ally of Ukraine from the start, sending both military and humanitarian aid.
• Inside Ukrainian offensive pushing Russia back – with Starlink playing a key role.
• At a recent event in Tuscany, he described himself as "neither pro-Putin nor pro-Russian" but "pro-Italian".
• Zelensky notes Ukraine has right to defend itself after Trump calls latest strikes a 'disgrace'.

Italy's defence minister has remarked it is a "complete mistake, a major mistake" for the US to limit access to satellite systems and intelligence employed by Ukraine to defend itself against Russian attacks.

In a BBC interview, Guido Crosetto cautioned that any such move by US President Donald Trump's administration "makes absolutely no sense" and risked prolonging Russia's full-scale invasion rather than helping to bring peace.

US authorities have stated Trump has not asked for the slowdown of internet speeds the US provides to Ukraine and which are vital for its war effort. Trump has additionally denied that the US has ceased sharing early-warning alerts of incoming Russian aerial attacks with Ukraine. Crosetto's comments continue Italy's sharpening criticism of the US.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called Trump's accord to purchase diesel from Russia a "very risky choice", and noted it would "grant Russia legitimacy" as it bombed cities in Ukraine.

Meloni, once considered so close to the US president she was dubbed a "Trump whisperer", remarked the move ran counter to efforts to bring Putin to the negotiating table.

"Peace will come when Putin is convinced there is a stalemate, that he cannot advance any further, " her defence minister informed the BBC at his ministry building in Rome.

Crosetto was a co-founder of Meloni's hard-right Fratelli d'Italia party. It has led a right-wing administration coalition since 2022, shortly after the start of Russia's full-scale war.

"If sees weakness on the Ukrainian side – and if the US deprives Ukraine of resources, that creates weakness – then he will believe he can win. So he will continue the war, " Crosetto cautioned. "I think that is completely wrong."

Despite widespread public scepticism, Meloni's Italian administration has been a robust ally of Ukraine from the start, sending both military and humanitarian aid. The specifics of those deliveries have always been classified.

Though he cautioned that getting parliament to approve further deliveries would be "more difficult" as elections approached, in our interview, the defence minister vowed that Italian military backing would continue "for as long as this government is in place".

In practice, the vote has to take place by the end of 2027 and opinion polls at present put a new far-right party, Futuro Nazionale, ahead of all Meloni's coalition partners.

That party's leader, former general Roberto Vannacci, is openly sympathetic to Russia and opposes aiding Ukraine, arguing that Europe is wasting its funds as Russia's military "continues to advance" on the ground.

Crosetto brushed off questions regarding Vannacci, including on whether his views reflected those of numerous Italians, saying he had more "serious matters to deal with". But, perhaps to underline the difference, he was unequivocal on Russia.

"When one state crosses another state's border with tanks, when it bombs hospitals and schools, kills civilians and bombs power plants, and has been doing so for four years, I can only describe that as evil, " he remarked.

But Italians, like plenty of Europeans, are seeing costs go up, driven by the high cost of energy.

During street protests in Rome on Friday, where firecrackers were thrown, secondary school students complained that resources were being diverted to arms, instead of education. Some chanted: "We want more classroom, not more bombs."

In southern Italy, truckers have begun blocking roads complaining at the hike in fuel rates.

Polls here regularly show that a majority of Italians want an end to military aid for Ukraine. One, conducted for the Ixè institute in September, put backing for continuing to supply arms at just 18%.

There are plenty of factors behind that, from a long-standing pacifist tradition to a history of robust business ties to Moscow. Unlike Poland or the Baltic states, Italy feels physically distant from the danger, too.

But the defence minister additionally blamed an active campaign of disinformation by Moscow – targeting, he stated, "certain political figures. And narratives to weaken the political climate against Russia". "In some way they shift public opinion, " the minister argued.

"It's particularly hard to explain to a citizen who's having trouble at the petrol pump that we can't provide any concessions to Russia right now. But that's the only way to defend the future of that particularly citizen who's complaining."

Italy has not been targeted for major acts of sabotage, unlike other allies of Ukraine in Europe.

Meanwhile, the minister remarked a fire at an arms depot outside Rome in August was not arson, but "human stupidity".

Notably, a report last month that Russia was planning to launch drone attacks at Italy, France and Spain from the container ships in the Mediterranean was not proven, Crosetto additionally informed us.

But cyber-attacks, which he linked to Russia, were now routine – "there are hundreds every day" – and he believed Europe had been too subdued in its response.

"You can't win a war. If you don't fight back, " the minister remarked. With extra reporting from Rome by Davide Ghiglione.

Taken together, the developments around trump ' completely wrong' to restrict support for Ukraine, Italian minister tells BBC point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.