Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni has said that her country would not send troops to Ukraine and risk escalation with Russia. She has reportedly dodged a proposal backed by some of Ukraine’s NATO backers to mobilise troops in Ukraine against Russia. The issue arose during the consultations before several EU leaders and Ukrainian President Zelensky travelled to Washington for talks with Donald Trump.
As per reports, while the French president spoke in favour of deployment, Meloni immediately responded with, “Russia has 1.3 million soldiers – how many should we send to be up to the task?” plus they have additional support from foreign countries.
In March 2025, Macron and Keir Starmer announced the creation of a “coalition of the willing” to provide air and ground forces for a peacekeeping role in Kyiv. This was met with a fierce response from the Russian authorities, saying every peacekeeper would be a target in Ukraine.
Meloni objected, invoking Article 5 of NATO, which provides collective security to member nations in case they face external aggression. She has maintained her stance on the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. Earlier in March, she said, “sending Italian troops to Ukraine is a topic that has never been on the agenda.”
Additionally, several members of the bloc have also refused to send troops to Ukraine, including Germany, Poland, Spain, Romania and Croatia, which have all also refused to participate in a hypothetical military mission in Ukraine.
Back in April, Sergey Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s National Security Council and former defence minister, warned that the arrival of NATO troops in Ukraine could trigger a third world war.
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