"I don't miss Russian tanks": Italian PM on need to support Ukraine

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said she does not miss the days of Russian tanks in European countries, as she explained to MPs why it is necessary to continue supporting Ukraine and prevent its capitulation.

Meloni stressed, speaking in parliament ahead of this week's EU leaders' summit, that supporting Ukraine is not an alternative to peace but, on the contrary, is what brings peace closer.

She said capitulation is not peace but conquest, stressing that if Ukraine stopped defending itself, the result would be the occupation of a European country and the return of Soviet-style imperialism.

She said she has no desire to see Russian tanks crushing uprisings in Prague and Budapest again, or the Berlin Wall return. She stressed that the capitulation of those fighting for their freedom could not be described as peace. Italy, she added, is seeking to build a just peace, even if doing so meant losing political consensus.

Only a just peace, she added, can be lasting and guarantee Europe's security and Italian interests.

Meloni also said in her speech that the US agreement with Russia on diesel supplies is a very risky decision.

She also believes that Putin is resorting to provocations in Europe to divert attention from the situation on the battlefield.