Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umyerov held talks in Rome with his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto. One of the key topics of the meeting was the shortage of Aster-30 missiles for Samp-T anti-aircraft batteries, which Ukraine previously received from Italy and France. About this informs Corriere della Sera.
“The two Samp-T anti-aircraft batteries handed over by Italy and France have almost completely exhausted their ammunition. If the situation does not change, they will become unusable. For several weeks, the government of Volodymyr Zelenskyi has been calling on both countries to send additional Aster-30 missiles,” – the message says.
At least 50 such missiles are needed to support Ukrainian air defense. The problem, however, is that Italy’s stockpile of Aster-30s is almost exhausted, and most of the remaining missiles are intended to protect strategic targets inside the country.
In addition to the meeting with Crosetto, Umerov is also scheduled to hold talks with the management of Eurosam, a joint venture between MBDA Italy, MBDA France and Thales, which produces the Aster-30.
We will remind that last November, Italy adopted a defense plan, which provides for the purchase of ten more Samp-T systems, the cost of each of which is about 500 million euros.
