As Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, all the prominent European leaders immediately declared that sanctions would be adopted to contrast the attacks. However, while leaders such as Emmanuel Macron did not wait a moment to announce the new sanctions over Russia, Mario Draghi, the Italian Prime Minister, hesitated before making an official statement.
Many political experts agree that Mario Draghi’s caution was due to the importance that Russia’s natural gas imports play in Italy’s energy requirements. In 2020, 43% of the natural gas imported in Italy was from Russia. According to the ISPI (Institute of International political studies), if Russia’s imports would stop, Italy would be one of the countries that would pay the higher price.
But this is not the only reason. The initial caution adopted by Mario Draghi is not too surprising as Italy has mostly maintained a positive relationship with Russia. For instance, when in 2014 Russia invaded Crimea, Matteo Renzi, the Italian Prime Minister at the time, declared that his government aimed to maintain an open dialogue with Russia. A few years later, Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 to 2021, also pushed to remove the EU sanctions over Russia since the invasion of Crimea. He also promoted the readmission of Russia to the G8. Some of the main political parties in Italy have maintained a positive relationship with both Russia and Putin for years. Among these are the League led by Matteo Salvini, the Brothers of Italy with leader Giorgia Meloni, and Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi’s party.
However, as the situation escalated, Mario Draghi had to change his position regarding the conflict. After the invasion, the Prime Minister adopted stricter measures. Italy is now one of the many countries that agreed to remove several Russian banks from SWIFT, preventing them from making international transactions. The day following the invasion, Draghi also declared that Italy would send about 1,400 men and women soldiers to help the NATO forces in Ukraine and weapons for a total of about 12 million euros.
The Ukrainian community in Italy is the biggest of Western European countries, with 240 000 Ukrainians currently living in the country. People are currently protesting all over Italy to prove their support to the Ukrainian population. On Saturday, several manifestations took place in all the country’s main cities, from Rome to Milan, Turin, Florence, and Naples. It has been estimated that tens of thousands of people participated in the protests. Italy is currently getting ready to welcome the many Ukrainian refugees who will arrive in the country in the next few days, while locals keep expressing their support for the Ukrainian population in the manifestations.
