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Italy has confirmed it will not help fund the purchase of US weapons for Ukraine, even as other allies ramp up their contributions.

Getting into it: Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told the Italian parliament that Rome would not back NATO’s PURL system, where member states cover the cost of US-made arms headed to Kyiv. “We have said no from the beginning, and it is still a no,” he said. The mechanism has become a cornerstone of Ukraine’s air defense, with NATO crediting it for the bulk of the missiles feeding Kyiv’s Patriot batteries.

The refusal stands out as contributors have pledged nearly $6 billion to the program, with recent commitments from Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and others, plus Australia chipping in $100 million. Italy first declined back in December 2025, citing an expected ceasefire that never came, and has not budged since.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has argued the government must focus on easing fuel and energy bills for voters, with higher defense spending unpopular ahead of next year’s election.

This all comes as the standoff feeds a wider cooling between Italy and the US that sharpened during the Iran war, when Italy refused to let US aircraft land at its bases. On top of that, Trump and Meloni recently clashed on social media over his claim about her “begging” for a picture with him, which Meloni disputed, saying their friendship hasn’t been politically good for her.

NATO tensions have flared too, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth telling allies in Brussels that some of the alliance’s richest members “still seem to think the era of free-riding is here,” without naming names.