View of the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome, where Ukrainian President Zelensky will meet with Italian President Mattarella. © Riccardo De Luca/AP
Ukrainian President Zelensky has arrived in Rome for a visit. There he wants to meet the heads of state and solicit further support for the war against Russia.
Rome - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to solicit further support in repelling the Russian attack during a visit to Italy. He arrived in the capital Rome on Saturday to meet President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. An audience with Pope Francis is likely to focus on ways to peace. Zelensky wrote on Twitter of an "important visit to achieve Ukraine's victory".
The politician landed at Rome-Ciampino airport in the morning. There he was received by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, as he confirmed and tweeted a photo of himself and Zelensky. Afterwards, the Ukrainian president drove a large convoy of cars to a hotel in the city center before his appointments were due.
Initially, it remained unclear whether Zelensky would travel from Italy to Germany. There has recently been speculation about a trip to the Federal Republic of Germany, but there has been no official confirmation so far. However, Berlin was preparing for a politician's visit with high security measures.
Zelensky had been taken to Rome by an Italian government plane from the southeastern Polish airport in Rzeszow near the Ukrainian border. When landing in Ciampino, Italian fighter jets were also in the air, as could be seen in footage.
Yermak: "Important for our victory"
In addition to Tajani, the Ukrainian ambassador to Italy, Yaroslav Melnyk, and the Italian ambassador to Ukraine, Pier Francesco Zazo, were also at the airport, the Ansa news agency reported. Zelensky will also be accompanied during his visit by the head of the Ukrainian president's office, Andriy Yermak, as he tweeted. The visit was "important for our victory," he wrote.
Zelensky is in Italy for the first time since the Russian attack on his country in February 2022. According to media reports, around 1500 police officers and security guards were deployed to ensure that the state visit ran smoothly. Airports, train stations and the subway were therefore particularly controlled. A no-fly zone has also been established over the city, including for drones. Snipers are positioned wherever Zelensky was expected.
Ukrainian national anthem sung
Ukrainians living in Italy gathered in the well-known Piazza Barberini in the center of Rome. Despite the rain, they sang the Ukrainian national anthem together. "We want to tell the president that we are with him," the chairman of the Christian Association of Ukrainians in Italy, Oles Horodetskyy, said on Italian television. One is sure that "Ukraine will send the invaders away to create a just peace."
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The Ukrainian president is likely to solicit further support in Italy for the war against Russia and the announced counteroffensive. Zelensky had previously received good news from Germany: the German government promised Ukraine further arms deliveries worth 2.7 billion euros. Among other things, 20 more Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1 tanks and 4 Iris-T-SLM anti-aircraft systems are to be provided, according to the Ministry of Defense in Berlin. Dpa
