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UKRAINE

Italian PM says Russia battling internal ‘chaos’

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday the revolt by the Wagner mercenary group showed Russia was in internal "chaos".

Italian PM says Russia battling internal 'chaos'
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers remarks after arriving for a meeting with France's President at the Elysee Palace on June 20, 2023. Photo: Ludovic MARIN/AFP.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Saturday the revolt by the Wagner mercenary group showed Russia was in internal “chaos”.

In the most serious challenge yet to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s long rule, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prighozin said his troops had seized a key military headquarters overseeing the offensive in Ukraine.

Speaking in Austria, Meloni said it was a “situation of chaos inside the Russian Federation which… clashes a bit with some of the propaganda which we have seen in recent months”.

She said Italy was in contact with its international allies to share information about the rapidly changing situation, and she had called an emergency meeting of Italian government ministers and intelligence services back home.

Speaking alongside Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer at the Europa-Forum Wachau, she said “it is not easy” to establish exactly what was happening, let alone predict what happens next.

“What interests me continues to be the story of Ukraine,” she told reporters.

Despite Italy’s historically warm ties with Moscow, Meloni’s coalition government has sent weapons and aid to help Ukraine while also strongly backing Western sanctions on Russia for its invasion last year.

Earlier, Meloni’s office said recent events “show how the aggression against Ukraine is causing instability also within Russia”.

On Twitter, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that for the moment there was no concern for Italians living in Russia, but said they were “advised to be cautious”.

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UKRAINE

Italy warns against ‘rash’ moves over arms to Ukraine

Italy's foreign minister on Saturday reiterated his opposition to Ukraine using Italian weapons inside Russia, warning of a "delicate" situation where "rash" moves must be avoided.

Italy warns against 'rash' moves over arms to Ukraine

Support is growing among NATO allies for allowing Ukraine to use Western-donated weapons to strike inside Russian territory – but Rome, a founding member of the alliance, remains opposed.

“It is a very delicate moment, we must not make false steps” and must avoid “rash steps and declarations”, Antonio Tajani told a meeting in Rapallo, northwest Italy, according to the AGI and ANSA news agencies.

He added that “even the US has not authorised the indiscriminate use of its weapons against Russia, but only to strike a base from where the drones depart. They too are very cautious”, AGI reported.

Tajani added that Italy would send another package of aid to Ukraine within “weeks”.

But he repeated that “we will not send even one Italian soldier to fight in Ukraine because we are not at war with Russia”, AGI reported.

Germany said on Friday it had given Ukraine permission to fire German-delivered weapons at targets in Russia.

READ ALSO: Berlin allows Ukraine to fire German weapons at targets in Russia

The day before, US officials said Washington had partially lifted similar restrictions to allow Ukraine to defend its eastern Kharkiv region, which borders Russia.

The change in Washington’s thinking was attributed by US officials to Russia’s daily pounding of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city.

Russia fired a combined 100 missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight, in a barrage that targeted energy sites across the country, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.

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