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Silvio Berlusconi Says Vladimir Putin Was Forced to Invade Ukraine

The veteran Italian politician is part of the center-right coalition expected to win this weekend’s general election.

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-serving prime minister, said Thursday that Vladimir Putin was forced to attack Ukraine after Volodymyr Zelensky “increased the attacks of his forces” against Russian troops in the Donbas region. Berlusconi made the comments after his final campaign rally in central Rome where he has aligned with far-right politicians Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini, who are polling to win elections on Sunday. Berlusconi told a popular television program that Putin was “pushed by the Russian people, his party and his ministers to invent this special operation.” He added that Putin had planned to finish up the invasion within a week, and that his goal was to “replace Zelensky's government with a government of decent people.” Concern has grown that a center right victory in Italy would put Italy’s support for Ukraine in jeopardy.