Italy's PM Georgia Meloni visits mass graves in Bucha, calls Putin's speech a 'propaganda'

On Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni arrived in Ukraine's national capital Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Meloni’s visit to the war-stricken country came a day after US President Joe Biden paid a surprise visit to the war-torn nation, Ukraine. During her visit, the Italian Prime Minister is expected to announce Italy’s military aid to Ukraine. Meloni's visit came just days ahead of the first anniversary of the devastating Russia-Ukraine war. 

Visuals of Meloni’s arrival in Ukraine were circulated online. In the video going around social media, the Italian Prime Minister can be seen deboarding the train and addressing the massive crowd waiting for her at a station in Kyiv. It was the year 2022 when she became the first female Prime Minister of Italy. According to Sky News, the Italian PM told local media that Italy will support Ukraine “to the end”. The Italian Prime Minister also visited the mass graves in the Ukrainian town of Bucha to mourn the loss of lives in the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Italian Prime Minister Meloni arrives to Kyiv by train.

She is there to announce a new Italian military aid package for Ukraine, including air defense systems.

🇮🇹🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/Ot5oVc1nCm

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24)

Meloni calls Putin’s speech 'propaganda’ 

As she stepped on Ukrainian soil, the Italian Prime Minister bashed the “state of the nation” speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Tuesday, the Russian President addressed the country’s Federal Assembly along with other top Russian Politicians. Reacting to Putin’s speech, Meloni described it as a “propaganda speech”. “A part of my heart hoped for some different words, for a step ahead. It was propaganda," Meloni asserted during her visit to Kyiv. The Italian PM assured her solidarity with Ukraine despite her junior partners in her coalition remaining ambiguous over the issue.