The story of the phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky is the most difficult passage in the Prime Minister’s speech in the Senate. “It was a dramatic moment: he’s hiding somewhere in Kiev, he said he ran out of time, that Ukraine ran out of time», Mario Draghi said,« This morning he looked for me to fix a telephone appointment for 9.30 but it was not possible to make the phone call, the president was no longer available ».
According to the premier, the attack launched by Putin’s Russia represents “a very serious violation of the sovereignty of a free and democratic state, of international treaties, and of the most fundamental European values”. And again: «I want to express once again the solidarity of the people and of the Italian government with the Ukrainian population and with President Zelensky. The return of war to Europe cannot be tolerated. Italy strongly condemns the invasion. The invasion of Russia and its president is vast and planned. I have the impression of being at a turning point in the international relations that have accompanied us since the end of the Second World War ”.
In addition to referring to the latest updates on the advance, he told about the situation in Kiev. “The images of citizens forced to hide in the subways remind us of the darkest days in European history.” The Italian embassy in Kiev remains open and on maximum alert. Italy is defining a 110 million euro package for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. “The violence in Russia makes dialogue impossible. Our main objective must be to protect our continent, to demand the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine and the return of Russia to the negotiating table ».
Speaking of NATO’s commitment, he explained that there are also changes for the Italian forces. «240 men deployed in Latvia together with naval forces and aircraft in Romania. Others are perhaps ready to be activated at the request of NATO: this is why we are ready about 1,400 men and women of the Armyof the Navy and the Air Force, and with an additional 2,000 soldiers available ».
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Italy is in line with the other European Union countries on sanctions. “These measures consist of a ban on imports and exports from separatist entities, on the model of what was done in 2014 in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea; in economic and financial sanctions against Russia, such as a ban on refinancing sovereign debt on the secondary market and the freezing of assets of three banking institutions; targeted sanctions against individuals and entities, such as the more than 300 members of the Duma who proposed the recognition of separatist territories and who voted in favor ”.
Draghi explained that these sanctions and those that may come require us to consider with great attention the impact on our economy. «The greatest concern concerns the energy sector, which has already been hit by the rises in recent months: around 45% of the gas we import comes from Russia, up from 27% ten years ago. The events of these days demonstrate the imprudence of not having diversified more our energy sources and our suppliers in recent decades. In Italy, we have reduced gas production from 17 billion cubic meters per year in 2000 to approximately 3 billion cubic meters in 2020, against a national consumption that has remained constant between approximately 70 and 90 billion cubic meters. . We must proceed quickly on the diversification front, to overcome our vulnerability as soon as possible and avoid the risk of future crises ».
Other stories of Vanity Fair that might interest you:
– Ukraine: night in the shelters in Kiev, Russian vehicles close to the city
– Ukraine, “We will spend the night in this bunker, in the cold”
– Attack on Ukraine, protests also in Russian cities
– Ukraine, the cry of civilians: “We are terrified”
– Ukraine, the attack started during the night
– Ukraine: “Awakened by the bombing, I threw up with fear”
– Ukraine, Natalia Onipko: «The world help us. We can’t do it alone “
– Putin’s signature: for Russia Donetsk and Lungansk are independent from Ukraine
– Ukraine, the drama of the fleeing population
– Ukraine crisis, Macron way: Putin-Biden meeting possible
– Vittorio Emanuele Parsi: “Ukraine between Russia and the West”
Source: Vanity Fair
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