Decoding the news: The message — cynical and calculated — sparked an unusually unified and harsh response from the Italian political spectrum.
What happened: Today, a section of the historical Torre dei Conti near the Roman Forum partially collapsed during renovation works.
- Two workers were pulled from the rubble — one, a 64-year-old man, suffered a head injury. Another worker remains trapped but is conscious and responsive.
- Three others, initially stranded on scaffolding, were rescued unharmed by firefighters.
- During rescue operations, a second collapse occurred, forcing firefighters to escape through a window — all are safe. Authorities are investigating the cause.
Zakharoff. While rescuers were still searching through the rubble in Rome, Zakharova posted on social media: “As long as the Italian government keeps wasting taxpayers’ money, Italy will keep collapsing — from the economy to its towers.”
- She added that “Italy’s support for Ukraine amounts to €2.5 billion,” linking the structural collapse to alleged waste tied to Kyiv.
- The comment fits perfectly into the Kremlin’s disinformation playbook: twist reality and blame the West for its own problems.
Political reactions. Italian parties responded with rare unanimity and outrage. From Parliamentary minority:
- Chiara Braga (Democratic Party): called the words “unacceptable, stupid and vulgar,” demanding the immediate summoning of the Russian ambassador.
- Simona Malpezzi (Democratic Party): denounced “a shameful manipulation that must not go unanswered.”
- Mara Carfagna (Noi Moderati): described the statement as “the worst and most disgusting form of opportunism.”
- Riccardo Magi (+Europa): called it “yet another provocation after the blacklist targeting President Mattarella.”
- Carlo Calenda (Azione): bluntly stated, “Russians and their supporters in Italy are scoundrels.”
- Pina Picierno (European Parliament Vice President): said Zakharova’s words are “a textbook Kremlin propaganda move — a cynical, calculated attack against Italy and against Europe.”
- She added: “Putin’s Russia is our enemy because it fights freedom, democracy, and the very values on which the European Union is built.”
Strategic context: Zakharova’s outbursts are never random. Her statements are crafted as shards of psychological warfare — designed to suggest that Western support for Ukraine brings ruin at home.
- The tactic is familiar: ridicule, distort, and destabilise.
- This time, however, the effect backfired — uniting Italy’s political class in an unusual show of solidarity.
The takeaway: Behind Moscow’s sarcasm lies weakness, not strength.
- Mocking Rome — a symbol of Western unity — only underscores the Kremlin’s growing insecurity.
- When propaganda needs to laugh at someone else’s ruins to feel powerful, it’s already starting to crumble.
