Vannacci, Salvini's deputy, opposes the Meloni decree for Ukraine: "It would mean war with Russia."

Is Giorgia Meloni right that to guarantee Ukraine's security, is it necessary to apply NATO Article 5 to Kyiv , even without formally adhering to the Atlantic Alliance treaty? "No, I personally don't agree." Contacted by Il Foglio, General Roberto Vannacci , MEP and deputy secretary of the League, doesn't even think twice: the Italian proposal to guarantee Ukrainian security—brought by Prime Minister Meloni to Washington, where US President Trump, Zelensky, and the leaders of the Willing are currently meeting—isn't convincing. "Using Article 5," says Vannacci, "is not technically possible : you can't apply a treaty article to a country that isn't a member of that same treaty. Above all," the general emphasizes, "such a choice would effectively put us at war with a nuclear power, Russia." Precisely for that reason, however, it would provide a strong guarantee of Ukrainian security: any new attack against Kyiv would be certain of a very strong response. “And then do you know that the risk is actually nuclear war?”, Vannacci comments.

So what do you expect from the meeting in Washington between Trump, President Zelensky, and the heads of government of the willing, including Giorgia Meloni ? "I don't think there will be great results: peace is negotiated by the US and Russia, the EU counts for nothing." So will European heads of state simply have to listen to what Trump says? "Certainly because Europe doesn't have the tools to do anything. It's not a union of strong nations, but an unprepared and incompetent technocracy in international relations to which states have mistakenly ceded sovereignty. Added to this, the EU has been cheering for all-out war, so now that peace is finally being discussed, what role does it want to play?"

Vannacci's version is extreme, but the League was clearly unhappy with the idea of using European and American involvement in the event of new Russian attacks on Ukraine after a potential peace deal this morning, when Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary Matteo Salvini posted a card with the face of Pope Leo XIV on social media. The caption, signed by the League Secretary, read: "Unlike Macron, who proposes sending our sons to fight in Ukraine, we choose to listen to the words of the Holy Father and work for PEACE." A veiled way of saying: never have Italian and European soldiers guarantee the security of Kyiv.

Even among the Northern League's members in Montecitorio and Palazzo Madama, the belief is that Italy and Europe should stay out of Ukraine's fate. A Northern League MP who wishes to remain anonymous says: "I think this affair will prove that Europe is now an outdated and useless instrument. A caste of bureaucrats that the time has finally come to kick out because they're no longer useful. Trump and Putin have already made up their minds; we'll have to follow suit without warmongering." And yet, along with Zelensky, German Chancellor Herz, French President Macron, Meloni, and Finnish Prime Minister Stubb also traveled to the US. "It's not like you put together a bunch of losers and they suddenly become cool," the MP concludes.

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