Several dozen 155-mm self-propelled artillery units M109L, which were transferred by Italy to Ukraine and repaired at the expense of the United States, are already on the front line in Ukraine, the Italian publication La Repubblica reported on Sunday.

"This is not only a long column of self-propelled guns, filmed two days ago at Udine railway station, when they parade past the astonished passengers. For several weeks now, a few videos shot in Ukraine have shown how powerful M109L are firing at Russian lines. And thus they testify to the importance of Italy's contribution to the military operations of the resistance," the report says.

Referring to its own sources, the publication says that 60 such self-propelled guns will be delivered to Ukraine or have already been delivered. "There are at least thirty tracked howitzers between those already at the front and those removed in Udine, and some sources say twice as many: a total of sixty vehicles have already been delivered to Kyiv troops or will be delivered in the near future," the article says.

The publication adds that these self-propelled guns are part of the military assistance package agreed by the previous Italian government of Mario Draghi.

In October 2022, it was reported that Italy had transferred more than 20 M109L self-propelled guns to Ukraine. "These are armored tracked vehicles with a 155-millimeter cannon using NATO ammunition. In the last years of the Cold War, Italy produced hundreds of such installations, upgrading the original American model, then from the beginning of the millennium they were decommissioned," La Repubblica reported at the time.

The article noted that the Ukrainian army will receive from 20 to 30 such self-propelled guns, "although the exact number remains top secret." It was indicated that these installations would undergo major repairs, and then go straight to the front line.