Italy

The President of Ukraine will meet with Georgia Maloney at the Palazzo Gigi on January 9 at 20:30 Kyiv time. The next day, he is scheduled to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

Two Russian propaganda films, Maidan, the Road to War and Children of Donbas, are scheduled to be screened in Italy in January and February 2025. Ukraine's State Film Agency appealed to the embassy to prevent the screenings.

U. S. President Joe Biden has canceled his planned trip to Rome due to large-scale wildfires in Los Angeles. Meetings with the Pope, Italian Prime Minister, and Ukrainian President Zelensky are canceled.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with his Italian counterpart Guido Crozetto. The parties discussed the joint production of air defense systems, missiles and armored vehicles for Ukraine.

Ukraine has improved its position in the Henley Passport Index 2025, rising to 30th place with 148 visa-free destinations. Singapore topped the ranking with access to 195 countries, ahead of Japan and European countries.

Poland's defense minister suggests that tomorrow's Ramstein meeting may be the last in the current format. Next week, the G5 will meet to discuss changes after Trump's inauguration.

The Italian government is negotiating a €1. 5 billion contract with SpaceX for telecommunications security. The agreement provides for encryption of government and military communications for 5 years.

Ukraine has extradited to Turkey a convict who was hiding in Kyiv region from punishment for sexual harassment of minors. The man, sentenced to 6 years and 8 months, was handed over to Turkish authorities.

The Reserve+ app has resumed the service of applying for a deferment from mobilization for parents of three minor children. The service was temporarily suspended due to technical work in the registers of the Ministry of Justice after a cyberattack.

George Meloni called Elon Musk a “brilliant man” and “a great personality of our time. ” The Italian prime minister criticized those who changed their attitude to the billionaire because of his position.

Rosita Missoni, co-founder of the world-famous fashion house Missoni, has died at the age of 93. Together with her husband, she created a unique brand known for its knitwear and zigzag prints.

In Switzerland, starting from January 1, 2025, it will be illegal to cover your face in public places. Violations are subject to a fine.

Since January 1, smoking has been banned in the streets and public places in Milan, and violators face fines. Exceptions are made for “isolated places” and e-cigarettes.

Wholesale prices for tangerines in Europe have reached record levels, approaching €2 per kilogram. The reason was a poor harvest in Turkey and weather disasters in the EU in 2024.

Italy has provided €13 million for the Energy Support Fund for Ukraine. The funds will be used to restore the war-damaged energy infrastructure and stabilize electricity supply.

The hacker group Noname 057 carried out a DDoS attack on official Italian websites, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Milan airports. The consequences of the attack were neutralized within two hours.

Telegram channels of Russian state media have become inaccessible in European countries due to violations of local laws. The blocking affected RIA Novosti, RT, Rossiya 1 and other channels in seven European countries.

In 2024, we launched 18 new Ukrainian-language audio guides to cultural sites around the world. We also donated hundreds of Ukrainian books to libraries in 8 countries as part of the Ukrainian Bookshelves project.

The bodies of two missing climbers have been found on Mount Gran Sasso in Italy. The experienced climbers slipped in a gorge at an altitude of 2700 meters after being blocked by snow and frost.

The Antimonopoly Committee has found a lack of competition in the market of bandages for patients with epidermolysis bullosa. The Swedish company Molnlycke Health Care created a monopoly due to the peculiarities of medical documentation.

Ukrainian wines are rapidly integrating into the global gastronomic culture due to their high quality and naturalness. The products are exported to many countries and appear on the menus of well-known international restaurants.

In seven Western European countries, support for Ukraine “until victory” has sharply declined. Most Europeans favor peaceful negotiations, even if it means Russia's control over some territories.

EU diplomats are skeptical about the possibility of deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine without US involvement. The main obstacles are Russia's rejection and the difficulty of convincing the European population.

The Italian government approves a decree-law extending the authorization for the transfer of military equipment to Ukraine.

Intesa Sanpaolo will stop accepting payments in euros from Russian banks from January 15, 2025. The restrictions will affect mainly corporate clients of the Russian Federation, but will have exceptions for domestic transactions.

Rome has completed a two-month restoration of the famous Trevi Fountain worth 327 thousand euros.

At a meeting of EU leaders, a conflict arose between Scholz and Duda over the confiscation of 260 billion euros of frozen Russian assets. Germany opposes it because of the risks to financial markets, while Poland supports the idea.

The Teamsters union has organized the largest strike in US history against Amazon over the company's refusal to negotiate labor contracts. The protest action began on December 19 with the participation of about 10,000 workers.

The Ministers of Defense of Ukraine and Italy discussed the expansion of military cooperation for 2025. It is planned to strengthen air defense and implement joint projects with Italian defense companies.

A Lithuanian Beechcraft plane was detained at Helsinki airport on suspicion of circumventing sanctions. The plane was planning an unusual route to Pskov via Helsinki instead of a direct flight from Latvia.