The 85-year-old billionaire told Italian television that Putin, an old friend of his, was pushed to invade Ukraine by the Russian people and by ministers who wanted Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government replaced with “decent people.” Berlusconi, who has condemned the war, told chatshow Porta a Porta that separatists had gone to Moscow and told the media that Ukraine’s attacks had caused 16,000 deaths and that Putin had done nothing to defend them. “Putin was pushed by the Russian population, by his party and by his ministers to invent this special operation,” Berlusconi said. “The troops were supposed to come in, reach Kyiv within a week, replace Zelensky’s government with decent people, and then leave. Instead they found resistance, which was then fueled by weapons of all kinds from the West.” Berlusconi’s Forza Italia is the junior partner in a coalition led by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy and including Matteo Salvini’s League which is predicted to win the election comfortably. Berlusconi is a senatorial candidate on the ballot. During his time as prime minister, Berlusconi had a close relationship with Putin, praising his leadership and helping broker energy deals that some blame for Italy’s dependence on Russian gas today. Forza Italia and the League supported sending arms to Ukraine when they were part of Mario Draghi’s broad coalition, which collapsed in July, as did the Brothers of Italy. As a coalition, they have pledged to continue Italy’s support for Ukraine. “The war lasted more than 200 days,” Berlusconi said. “The situation has become very difficult. I feel sick when I hear of dead people because I always thought war was the greatest madness of all.” Enrico Letta, the leader of the center-left Democratic party, said Berlusconi’s remarks were scandalous and “legitimized Moscow”. He said: “These comments demonstrate that in part of our electoral system, on the right but not only, there are those who, in short, say: ‘Let’s stop this war, let’s give Putin what he wants.’ I find it unacceptable.” Salvini has also cultivated ties with Russia, has praised Putin in the past and criticized economic sanctions against the country over the war in Ukraine for “bringing Italy to its knees.”