ROME, Jan 28 More than half of Italians (52%) oppose sending new Western weapons to Ukraine, according to data published by the newspaper la Stampa.
According to a study conducted by the Euromedia Institute, the number of opponents of Kyiv's military support has increased by several percentage points since mid-December.
According to the latest data from January 24, 68.5% of respondents answered negatively to the question of whether they support «NATO entry <…> into the conflict.»
A third (33.9%) consider it necessary to support the Kyiv authorities with the help of German Leopard tanks, 58% express their disagreement with such measures.
The article notes that the vast majority of Italians, as shown by a study for one of the broadcasts of the Rai1 TV channel, believe that the conflict in Ukraine is far from them. This opinion is shared by 78.2% of respondents.
It was reported yesterday that more than half of the country's residents oppose the growth of public defense spending to two percent of GDP. According to the study, 55% of the population reject the government's proposal to bring the defense budget to the level previously designated by NATO.
After the start of the Russian special operation, the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Alliance supplied billions of dollars worth of military equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, Moscow has repeatedly noted that the West is seeking to prolong the conflict. As emphasized in the Russian Ministry of Defense, warehouses with foreign ammunition will become legitimate targets for the Aerospace Forces in the neighboring republic.