Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has called the decision by the United States to limit Ukraine's access to satellite systems and intelligence used against Russian attacks a "complete error, a grave error". Speaking in an interview with the BBC, he said the move by the administration of President Donald Trump "makes absolutely no sense". He argued it risks prolonging Russia's full-scale invasion instead of helping to bring peace. The interview was conducted at the defence ministry in Rome.
Crosetto tied any settlement to Russia's military calculations. He said the war would end only when Moscow accepts that its advance has stalled.
“Peace will come when Putin is convinced that there is a stalemate, one that he cannot advance any further.”
If Vladimir Putin sees weakness on the Ukrainian side and the United States deprives Kyiv of resources, the minister warned, the Kremlin would believe it can win and the fighting would continue. Asked about the BBC account of his views, he added: "I think it is completely wrong." He promised that Italian military support for Ukraine would continue as long as the government led by Giorgia Meloni remains in office. He warned, however, that securing parliamentary approval for further deliveries would become more difficult as elections approach, though no election date appears in the coverage.
US officials told AGI that Trump had not asked to slow the internet service the United States provides to Ukraine, a service central to Ukraine's war effort. Trump also denied that Washington had stopped sharing early warnings of incoming Russian air attacks with Kyiv. The denials leave open the exact scope of the satellite and intelligence restriction that Crosetto criticised. Crosetto's remarks in the BBC interview are the only account in the coverage of how the restriction is affecting Ukraine's defence.
Crosetto blamed part of Italian public scepticism toward aid to Ukraine on a Moscow-backed disinformation campaign. He said it targets certain political figures and spreads narratives meant to weaken the political climate hostile to Russia. He illustrated the problem with a citizen struggling with fuel prices, who finds it hard to accept that no concession can be made to Moscow. Italy has not been the target of significant sabotage in the way some other Ukrainian allies in Europe have been. The fire that broke out in an arms depot on the outskirts of Rome in August was not arson, Crosetto said, but the result of "human stupidity". He also said Italy faces cyberattacks "hundreds" of times every day.
The Ukraine remarks came days after Crosetto's comments on sovereignty. On 15 October, during a question session in the Senate, he described sovereignty as non-negotiable. On 16 October, at the presentation of the Volta B1 quantum computer, he said Italy must choose between absorbing rules set elsewhere and helping to shape the rules on data, artificial intelligence and infrastructure. He said technology is becoming a form of power. Italy depends on American and Chinese providers for cloud services, data centres, telecommunications and 5G networks, a dependence the Ukraine case illustrates.
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Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told the BBC that Washington's decision to restrict Ukraine's access to satellite systems and intelligence is a serious mistake that could prolong Russia's invasion.
AI text based on reports by Il Fatto Quotidiano, Adnkronos, Tgcom24 and other publishers. Published .