Berlusconi blames Zelenskyy for war in Ukraine
Silvio Berlusconi (Photo:Silvio Berlusconi/Facebook)
Former Italian PM and leader of Forza Italia political party Silvio Berlusconi criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and blamed him for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in an audio recording, published by Italian news outlet LaPresse on Oct. 19.
In the recording, Berlusconi cam be heard claiming that after coming to power, Zelenskyy "has tripled attacks" against Russia-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, allegedly leaving Russia no choice but to intervene.
“He is against any initiative, he resists, he (Putin) is under heavy pressure from all of Russia,” said Berlusconi.
“And he decides to come up with a special operation. The troops were supposed to enter Ukraine, reach Kyiv in a week, overthrow the Zelenskyy’s government and install a government of decent, sane people, that were already elected by a minority of Ukrainians. After a week, (Russian) troops would have withdrawn.”
Furthermore, Berlusconi mentioned “unpredictable resistance by the Ukrainians, who from the third day (of the invasion) started to receive money and weapons from the West.”
“And the war turned from a two-week operation into a two-hundred-year war. So, that is the situation with the war in Ukraine,” he concludes.
Berlusconi then criticizes EU and U.S. leaders, describing them as weak, and calls for a “strong intervention” in the war in Ukraine.
Incoming Italian PM Georgia Meloni, poised to lead a government in coalition with Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, had this to say about the report:
"With a head held high, Italy is an integral part of Europe and NATO.”
“Anyone who doesn’t agree with this principle cannot have a say in government. With us in government, Italy will never be a weak link in the West – an unreliable country that many of our foes would like to see.
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