The Italian government is preparing a new arms package for Ukraine, including air defence systems.

According to Reuters, a governing coalition official said that Rome was ready to provide Ukraine with a variety of air-defence systems, including the medium-range Franco-Italian SAMP/T and Italian Aspide, as well as portable Stinger missiles.

However, it remains unclear how many systems Italy could offer and when any shipment might be delivered, the official said.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto spoke by phone on Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and pledged to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion for "as long as necessary", a statement said.

Italy approved its first weapons delivery to Kyiv late in February, under the national unity government of Mario Draghi.

Giorgia Meloni's newly installed right-wing coalition government is preparing a sixth round of supplies.

Last week, Il Messagero reported that the Italian government did not consider a new decree on arm delivery for Ukraine, as it needs to coordinate its actions with NATO and find out the details of Ukraine's military needs. But Defence Minister Guido Crosetto later said that the government would approve the sixth arms package for Ukraine.