Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has supported Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The 85-year-old said Russia’s leader was “pushed” into the conflict.
Silvio Berlusconi believes that Russian troops were meant to replace the government with “decent people” then leave.
“Putin was pushed by the Russian population, by his party and by his ministers to invent this special operation. The troops were supposed to enter, reach Kyiv in a week, replace the Zelensky government with decent people and a week later come back,” Mr Berlusconi.
Unfortunately, he said they found “an unexpected resistance, which was then fed by arms of all kinds from the West.”
The three-time Italian PM is a long-term ally of the Russian President.
This weekend his party is expected to take power as part of a right-wing coalition in a general election in Italy.
A narrative alleging the Ukrainian government was slaughtering Russian speakers in the east of the country was created by the media in Moscow, Mr Berlusconi told Italian TV.
He said the reporting, pushed by separatist forces and nationalist politicians in the Russian government, had left Mr Putin with no choice but to launch a limited invasion.
But in April, he condemned the invasion and said he was “deeply disappointed and saddened” by Mr Putin’s behaviour, adding that the “massacres of civilians in Bucha and other localities are real war crimes”.
The Forza Italia party leader is currently campaigning as part of a right-wing coalition ahead of Sunday’s general election.
Despite Mr Berlusconi’s past friendship with Mr Putin, and Mr Salvini’s criticism of Western sanctions on Russia, Ms Meloni, who is expected to lead any potential government, has pledged to continue Italy’s support of Ukraine.
“The war in Ukraine is the tip of the iceberg of a conflict aimed at reshaping the world order,” she said earlier this month. “So we have to fight this battle.”