Russian President Vladimir Putin was pushed to launch the military campaign in Ukraine by his supporters and wanted to replace the government in Kiev with “decent people,” former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Thursday.
Speaking on Italian public broadcaster RAI, Berlusconi speculated on what prompted the Russian leadership to proceed with the military operation in Ukraine in late February. “Putin was pushed by the Russian people, by his party, by his ministers to come up with this special operation,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.
Berlusconi believes Moscow had initially planned to take control of Kiev “in a week,” replace Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his government with “decent people,” and leave the capital “in another week.” Read more…
