The heaviest artillery is ready from Italy for Kyiv: the new decree with cannons, tracked vehicles and armoured cars

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  1. Draghi’s government is preparing a new and more powerful military aid package to be sent to Kyiv. This package is expected to be finalised in the coming days, most likely before Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s trip to Ukraine. Sidam25s mounted on M113 tracked vehicles, howitzers, M109 self-propelled guns that were shelved at the end of the Cold War, and a few other prized items such as the PzH2000, the most modern self-propelled tracked vehicle in the world with a 155-calibre howitzer, a maximum range of 40 km and a maximum firing speed of three shots in ten seconds. These are some of the hypotheses reported by Repubblica and Corriere della Sera that military technicians are currently evaluating. There are no official decisions yet, but the aim is to inspect and collect much heavier weapons than those delivered so far. As for machine guns, anti-tank rockets and ammunition, what is certain is that they will once again be on the aid list, as was already authorised in the decree of a month ago.

    Italian arms to Ukraine

    Starting next week, military technicians will carry out an in-depth examination of the pieces of Italian armament that are really suitable for sending to Ukraine. The assessment will then be forwarded to the Ministry of Defence and will prompt the government to draw conclusions on the quantity and quality of aid to be given to Kyiv. Among the resources to be examined will be M109 self-propelled cannons recovered directly from the Cold War period. The Inter-Forces Command will have to understand how long it will take to make them one hundred per cent usable again. The country has 300 M109 guns available, 221 of which were subjected to an upgrade programme in the early 1990s. They have therefore been in reserve for 20 years, mostly located in the Lenta depot in the province of Vercelli. Seventy have been sold to Pakistan and 10 to Djibouti in exchange for the concession of a base. Those that remained would now require rehabilitation work that could take months.

    The other hypothesis of sending was that of the very modern Pzh 2000, howitzers of German production that the Netherlands has also decided to send to Kyiv. This is not an easy possibility for Italy, given the small number of such vehicles available, the armamentarium only provides for 70. The government’s list could also include some Centauro armoured fighting vehicles, with eight-wheel drive and a cannon capable of dealing with tanks. But the problem in this case would be the ammunition: the Centauro armoured cars use 105 millimetres, which are not present in Ukraine. Not to mention the lengthy training that the crews would need.

    The simplest way would be to recover the old M113 tracked troop carriers, soon to be sent by the United States. Another easily salvageable action would be that of the mine-proof Iveco Lince off-road vehicles with light armour, with a very minimal need for crew training. The Ukrainians have already captured a dozen of them from the Russians. Italy has over two thousand of them, some older and destined to be replaced by a new model.

    The technicians will have to transfer to the Ministry of Defence the evaluation of the suitability of the Puma six-wheel drive armoured cars: there are more than three hundred practically new, but shelved because they proved vulnerable to mines in Afghanistan. In spite of their not-so-reliable past, they could still be robust and easy-to-use vehicles, capable of providing protection for Ukrainian fighters, especially inside cities.

    Translated with DeepL

  6. I really doubt we will send pzh2000 since we only have a limited numbers. I hope we’ll send some LMV lince that ironically Russia also use, those vehicle are the best in their category they’d be very useful in Ukraine.

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