Italy, France May Send to Ukraine Air Defense System Worth $870Mln, Reports Say

ROME (Sputnik) - Italy and France have agreed to jointly provide Kiev with an advanced Samp/T air defense system with about 700 Aster-30 anti-aircraft missiles at a total cost of 800 million euros ($870 million), Italian newspaper reported Saturday.

The system can reportedly intercept and destroy the full spectrum of air threats, including missiles within a radius of 25 kilometers (15.5 miles), as well as aircraft within 100 kilometers, the report said, adding that the system can intercept ballistic missiles as well.

The SAMP/T battery is reportedly capable of simultaneously engaging up to 130 air targets and launching up to 10 missiles at them.

The developer and manufacturer of the air defense system is the European consortium Eurosam.

Earlier in January, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that the total amount of Italian military aid to Ukraine was about 1 billion euros. On Tuesday, the Italian parliament approved a government decree stipulating the continuation of military aid to Ukraine in 2023.

The Italian government is currently preparing a sixth package of military aid to Ukraine. On Thursday, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, citing sources in the national security services, reported that as part of this package, Rome will send Kiev, among others, an air defense system Samp/T with ammunition, drones of Israeli design, as well as heavy artillery equipment.

In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev after Russia started its military operation in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that pumping Ukraine with weapons was not conducive to peace negotiations and would have a detrimental effect on the conflict.