Italy's Deputy Prime Minister to Macron: "Go to Ukraine Yourself to Fight, Wear a Helmet and Don't Deceive the Italians"

Italy's Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, has suggested to French President Emmanuel Macron to personally travel to Ukraine and participate in military operations.

“I will tell Macron: you go to Ukraine to fight, wear a helmet, and don’t deceive the Italians who want to live in peace,” he said during a campaign event for his 'League' party in Bari.

At the same time, he added that “no Italian bullet or bomb will go to Russia, as we do not want a third world war.”

Recently, Salvini has regularly criticized NATO and EU leadership regarding their stance on increasing military support for Kyiv and their willingness to have Ukrainian armed forces strike Russia with Western weapons.

It is noteworthy that the French president has made several contradictory statements regarding the Ukrainian conflict. In particular, according to Macron, Paris does not rule out the possibility of sending troops into the combat zone if Russia breaches the frontline and Kyiv requests assistance. Last Tuesday, he stated that Kyiv should be allowed to strike targets on Russian territory from which missile attacks are launched. However, the politician does not consider this an escalation.

Furthermore, as reported by Le Monde, Macron aims to create a European coalition to send military instructors to Ukraine. According to the publication, this could be a matter of “weeks or even days.”