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Journo Branded Head of ‘Putin's Network in Italy’ for Honesty on Ukraine

Italian journalist Giorgio Bianchi was deprived of the opportunity to speak publicly about the Ukraine conflict and called a Russian spy for trying to inform Italians about the real reasons for what is happening in Ukraine after the start of the special military operation, the journalist told Sputnik.

The reporter has been covering events in Ukraine since the Euromaidan in 2014, and has appeared several times as an expert in the Italian media. After the start of the special military operation, he went to Donbass for almost two months, where he witnessed the liberation of Mariupol and Volnovakha firsthand.

“From that moment on, I could no longer hold conferences in schools and universities. Italy's most popular newspaper Corriere della Sera printed me on the front page, claiming that I was the head of 'Putin's network in Italy,'” he shared, adding that the case against him was sent to Italy's then-head of government Mario Draghi.

Bianchi emphasized that he continued to tell the truth, explaining that the Minsk agreements were subversively used to arm Ukraine and that neo-Nazi ideas were actually observed in the country, as the journalist himself saw neo-Nazi symbols and literature when he was in Mariupol.

However, all the newspapers that had been talking about it for years suddenly “changed their minds overnight,” and began to claim there was no such ideology in Ukraine, the journalist stressed.

Activists of various nationalist parties carry torches and a portrait of Stepan Bandera during a rally in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 marking his birth anniversary. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) - Sputnik International, 1920, 01.07.2024

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The sanctions that Washington is pressuring European countries to impose against Russia are actually hurting the European Union (EU) more, Giorgio Bianchi said.

“I have the impression that this is a US war not only against Russia, but also against Italy, Germany, and France. Because the sanctions that the US has forced our countries to apply, I call them auto-sanctions, these sanctions are directed more against us than against Russia,” he pointed out.

Bianchi believes that the US and UK have actually benefited far more from these sanctions than from the bombing of Europe’s industrial districts during World War II.

“Large companies will simply move out of [EU] countries. Some of them have already moved to Asia, and now they will move to America because of more favorable business conditions,” the journalist added.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak during a bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street in London, Friday July 19, 2024. - Sputnik International, 1920, 22.09.2024

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The ban on using Italian-supplied weapons by Kiev to strike Russia is mere noise, since Rome can still provide all the support NATO may request, Bianchi said.

“In any case, these long-range weapons are supplied by the US and the UK. They are the American ATACMS and the British Storm Shadow. Therefore, the statement of the Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, is nothing. It means nothing. If there is a need in planes or bases to calculate the distance [for strikes on Russia], Italy cannot fail to provide it. Italy is fully integrated in NATO,” he stressed.

Statements by the Italian authorities that Ukraine cannot use Italian-supplied weapons against Russia are “a farce that continues to play only for the electorate.”

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces launched ATACMS missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region during the night of November 19. Five missiles were intercepted by Pantsir and S-400 systems, while one was damaged.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the use of the ATACMS ballistic missiles a signal that the West was seeking an escalation in the Ukrainian conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September that if Western countries gave permission for their long-range weapons to be used by Ukraine for attacks on Russia, this would change the nature of the conflict and make them directly involved.

💬ITALY'S BAN ON STRIKES AGAINST RUSSIA ‘MEANS NOTHING,’ AS IT DEPENDS ON NATO – Italian journalist

The ban on using Italian-supplied weapons by Kiev to strike Russia is mere noise, since Rome can still provide all the support NATO may request, Italian journalist Giorgio… https://t.co/nZ5nn0SpDU pic.twitter.com/BxFigysMin

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) November 23, 2024