Trump on Monday said the United States would ship "billions of dollars' worth" of military equipment to NATO members, paid for by the alliance, to be handed over to Ukrainian forces battling grinding Russian advances. Trump had earlier this month suggested NATO would "100 percent" pay for U.S. weapons, which would be sent to Ukraine.

Italy, along with other NATO countries, has agreed to sharply increase defence spending over the next decade, but Giorgia Meloni's government is already working on imaginative ways to minimise any hit to its strained public finances.

The Italian government has no plans to join a US-NATO initiative to purchase American weapons for Ukraine with EU funds, citing a lack of available resources. Source: Italian newspaper La Stampa, as reported by European Pravda Details: La Stampa reported that Italy's budget constraints prevent it from participating in the initiative to fund American weapons for Ukraine with European money.