Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a few days before the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is in Kiev where she meets President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The prime minister was also in Bucha and Irpin, a symbol city of resistance to the Russian invasion.
In Bucha, one of the places of massacres of civilians, she was moved: "You are not alone", she said.
"It's different to talk about numbers or see people's lives destroyed for no reason, it's worth seeing," she added to Irpin.
Giorgia Meloni also dismissed
Putin's speech to the nation
as follows : "What we heard was propaganda that we already know, the facts are different".
LIVE FROM KIEV
Giorgia Meloni in Kiev: 'Honored, it's a duty to be here'
The visit to Bucha
, one of the sites of the massacres of civilians perpetrated in March last year by the Russian army in Ukraine.
Meloni placed red flowers to pay homage to the victims
in mass graves.
In front of this symbolic place, the Prime Minister closed in recollection.
"You can count on Italy, we have been with you from the beginning and will be until the end. You have all our support," the prime minister told the Ukrainian authorities.
A medal composed with used bullets is the homage reserved for her premier during her visit to Bucha.
Meloni carefully observed the medal and read aloud with interest the engraving on the back: "City not conquered".
At times moved, Meloni listened to the stories of the tragedies caused in these places by the Russian aggression from various Ukrainian authorities.
After reviewing even a small photographic exhibition with images of the horrors, the prime minister asked the
interpreter to translate a message to his interlocutors: "You are not alone".
"
We will fight for you and your freedom
."
After Bucha, visit Irpin,
which suffered heavy bombing in the initial stages of the war.
Irpin was also the stage last year for Mario Draghi's visit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Welcomed by the mayor, the premier listened to the mayor's story of the destruction of this area, asking him various questions about the population and how long it would take to rebuild the city.
"Having the money - answered the mayor -, in two years the whole city can be rebuilt".
Giorgia Meloni signed a flag of Ukraine in Irpin leaving a dedication: 'At your side!', 'on your side'.
Ukraine, the report from Bucha: this is how a city died
"It's different to talk about numbers or see people's lives destroyed for no reason," Meloni said before leaving Irpin.
Kiev "is grateful to President Meloni for her leadership and for his commitment to continuing to support Ukraine".
The spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleg Nikolenko told ANSA, commenting on the premier's visit to Kiev.
"We count on Italy's further full support in winning peace for Ukraine, re-establishing its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and holding Russia to account for its crimes," he added.
"We also look to Rome's continued role in strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities to protect our people from Russia's brutal war."
The premier's trip to Kiev
THE PODCAST OF THE REPORTER, the journey to Ukraine