Distant peace between Russia and Ukraine, but also between Russia and the rest of Europe. Moscow’s Foreign Minister, Serghei Lavrov, once again attacked the leaders of other countries in a TV interview and Giorgia Meloni also ended up in the crosshairs. The underlying accusation is the same one that has been made for more than four years now: “Russophobia”.
Lavrov against Giorgia Meloni
Lavrov was interviewed by the program “The Great Game” on public TV and accused politicians in Europe calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, of only wanting to “buy time” in favor of Kiev.
“Some, like the president of Finland and the prime minister of Italy, are starting to talk about the need for an immediate ceasefire. But even behind this lies the desire to buy time: everyone understands this perfectly,” accused the head of Moscow’s diplomacy.
“The majority of those who call for an end to hostilities say that, once stopped, they will no longer recognize anything that Russia currently controls”, continued the minister, underlining that at the same time all those who ask for a truce in any form “talk about preserving the regime that currently governs Kiev. This means preserving the characteristics of this regime: Nazism, aggressive Russophobia, violations of human rights, of the right to language and of the right to choose one’s religion”.
Lavrov:
“They say Russia is losing, so Ukraine must be supported in every possible way.
On the other hand, same Russia, supposedly losing, is preparing to attack Europe.”
Even from politician’s point of view, saying such crazy things is not serious”pic.twitter.com/ypJDXzGBfk https://t.co/DkvL8nniWZ
— TheGlobalFaultlines (@GlobalFaults) September 9, 2026
The previous one
It is certainly not the first attack that Russia has made on Italy, due to its support for Kiev. The latest episode, in chronological order, saw the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, brand as “very ridiculous” and worthy of a satirical fable by Gianni Rodari the appointment of the former Ukrainian Defense Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, as consultant to the Italian Defense Ministry. Crosetto replied directly to her: “I understand that they would prefer that the choices for Italy could be made by someone who consults Moscow first, but for now this is not yet the case and the reasoning is only thinking about Rome and not Moscow, Kiev or Washington”.