He had promised that he would travel to Kyiv before February 24, one year after the Russian invasion, and finally the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, traveled to the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, one day after the important visit of the US President Joe Biden. Meloni arrives to underline the Italian support for the Ukrainian cause amidst the strong controversy over the latest statements by Silvio Berlusconi, a member of the right-wing government coalition, who continues to blame Volodimir Zelenski for the conflict.
The Italian premier has arrived by train from Poland and will visit the towns of Bucha and Irpin, symbols of the atrocities of the Russian campaign, before meeting Zelenski at the Kyiv presidential palace. "We have guaranteed financial, military, humanitarian and civil support," she assured before traveling. “Obviously, Ukraine can count on Italian support as we have done from the beginning. We have been there and we will continue to do so, ”she stressed.
On Monday, Meloni announced the shipment of electric generators to meet the needs of three million people and her Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, promised surface-to-air air defense missiles, something that the president will surely reiterate at a press conference this afternoon. in Kyiv. Before traveling, Meloni spoke by phone with Biden, with whom she discussed her "close coordination" in supporting Ukraine, including economic, humanitarian and security assistance.
The visit is important, surely the most visible international outing since Meloni came to power after winning the early elections in September. Furthermore, it may be unpopular in a country where 52% of Italians are against sending more weapons to Ukraine, according to polls. She follows the example of his predecessor, Mario Draghi, who traveled to Kyiv in June with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. With her displacement, the far-right leader wants to record that the comments of former Prime Minister Berlusconi – whose party, Forza Italia, is a minority partner of the Executive – will have no effect on the Government's foreign policy.
Last week, while going to vote in the regional elections in Lombardy, Berlusconi once again caused tension in the coalition by criticizing the prime minister for having spoken with Zelenski in Brussels. If he were the prime minister, she said, "I wouldn't talk to him." "It was enough for him to stop attacking the two republics of Donbass and this would never have happened, so I consider that this man's behavior is very, very negative," he insisted, winking at his old friend Vladimir Putin.
His statements forced the Italian Executive to get out of the way to clarify that "the support for Ukraine by the Government is firm and convinced", "as clearly provided for in the program and as confirmed by all the parliamentary votes of the majority that supports”. But it is not the first time that Il Cavaliere has attacked Zelenski. In October, a conversation was leaked in which he accused the Ukrainian of the conflict for having "triplicated the attacks" in the Donbass since his arrival in the Government. He also boasted of having resumed relations with Putin, who gave him twenty bottles of vodka ”and a“ sweet letter ”for his 86th birthday, to which he responded with Lambrusco and another kind letter.
The malaise in Kyiv was evident. Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko accused him of "kissing Putin's bloody hands." Zelensky responded with irony: "Maybe we should send him something... we have high-quality Ukrainian vodka," he said. Uncomfort has reached Brussels and the European People's Party (EPP), of which Forza Italia is a part, has canceled a planned meeting in Naples in June. "Support for Ukraine is not optional," wrote EPP leader Manfred Weber of Germany.
