The President of the Republic of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, called the Supreme Defense Council for an emergency meeting today, at 16:30 pm, according to the newspaper Courier.
The body is responsible for assessing general political and technical problems relating to national security and defense: it is chaired by the Head of State and composed of the President of the Council of Ministers, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Economy, Defense and the Chief of Defense.
The call comes shortly after Russia began a broad military operation to invade Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday (24).
There are images of explosions and tank movements in different Ukrainian cities. Putin told Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms and return home.
Putin said his country cannot tolerate what he calls “threats from Ukraine” and warned against foreign interference. He further stated that all responsibility for any potential bloodshed will lie on the conscience of the Ukrainian government and said he was confident that the Russian military would do its duty.
“The Italian government condemns Russia’s attack on Ukraine. This is unjustified and unjustifiable. Italy is close to the Ukrainian people and institutions at this dramatic moment. We are working with European and NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] allies to respond immediately, with unity and determination,” he said. Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Italy.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio, highlighted that the military operation “is a very serious and unjustified unprovoked aggression”. “It is a violation of international law. Italy stands alongside the Ukrainian people, EU and Atlantic partners,” he pointed out.
