Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, whose insults against Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni caused a diplomatic spat between Italy and Russia, lashed out against President Sergio Mattarella, local outlets reported.
Solovyov is a television presenter that has been widely described as a Kremlin propagandist and a staunch supporter of Vladimir Putin. Earlier this week, Solovyov used his propaganda show
Polnyj Kontakt (“Full Contact”) to attack Meloni with a barrage of insults, branding the Italian Prime Minister as a fascist, certified idiot, a nasty little woman” and referring to her as a “Whore.”
His insults against Meloni prompted the Italian government to summon the Russian ambassador to Rome Alexey Paramonov, who claimed that the propagandist’s remarks could not be attributed to the Russian government.
ANSA reports that on Thursday night, Solovyov went against Italian President Mattarella during his most recent broadcast, and claimed that he, “doesn’t understand what he is talking about,” with regards to Russia and the war in Ukraine.
Solovyov reportedly prefaced that the topic of his show, which he titled, “Appeal to Italy, Financiers of Fascism,” was to address “Italy’s role in World War II.”
“Italians, be ashamed of your ancestors,” Solovyev said. “You Italians may not know this, but I want you to know about the shame of your grandparents and great-grandparents who came to this land to kill Soviet citizens.”
“Remember the statements made by your current politicians. When one of your political leaders, a minister, or a sitting president says that the commander-in-chief is worse than an animal or alludes to the Third Reich when speaking about our country, you don’t understand what you’re talking about,” the propagandist continued.
TgCom24 explained that Solovyov was referring to past statements issued by Mattarella during a speech at the University of Marseille on February 15, 2025 in which he referred to Russia as the “Third Reich.” the Russian government lashed out against Mattarella at the time over his “blasphemous” remarks.
“You have not found the strength to acknowledge the bloody crimes of the Ukrainian Nazis,” Solovyov claimed, and added, “I am addressing you Italians — not the people, who could not have known, but the leaders. You could not have been unaware. You leaders of France, Germany, you have fostered Ukrainian Nazism, once again against the Soviet people: because we all come from the USSR.”
Solovyev referred to the reaction to his insults against Meloni and claimed, “I’ve become an international TV star.” He also reportedly affirmed that “there has been talk of the ‘unmentionable’ insults against the Italian prime minister, but not of what I spoke about.”
Euronews noted that Solovyev’s attacks against Mattarella came right as the Italian President delivered an speech on the upcoming 81st anniversary of April 25’s Liberation Day, a national holiday commemorating the end of the Nazi occupation during World War II. Mattarella reiterated his “firm rejection of all forms of oppression and any drift toward totalitarianism” and condemned the “prevalence of law imposed by force and highlighted the plight of civilian populations forced to live under authoritarian regimes” in light of the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
According to TgCom24, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called upon Solovyev to “wash his mouth” before speaking about Italy, his government, and its people.
“Those are truly distasteful remarks; they deserve condemnation from all political sides, regardless of one’s views,” Salvini said during a Thursday night interview.
Read the full article here