“Disgrace to Humanity”: Italy Calls In Russian Ambassador After Solovyov’s On-Air Attack on Meloni

Italy has summoned the Russian ambassador to Rome after Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov delivered a string of sexist and vulgar insults against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni live on Russian state television.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called in Ambassador Alexey Paramonov to the Farnesina to lodge a formal protest, as ANSA reported. “I have summoned the Russian ambassador to the ministry to express a formal protest following the extremely serious and offensive statements,” Tajani said.

What Solovyov Said

The attack came during Solovyov’s programme Polny Kontakt on Rossiya 1, Russia’s main state television channel, where the host appeared in his trademark military green jacket. He called Meloni a “certified idiot”, a “disgrace to humanity” and a “nasty little woman” and accused her of betraying her voters. Strikingly, he delivered several of the insults directly in Italian — a language he once practised during holidays at his villa on Lake Como, which was seized along with his other properties after he was placed on EU sanctions lists following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Solovyov, who has been decorated with Russia’s Order of Honour by Vladimir Putin, also accused Meloni of political betrayal. “Betrayal is her middle name,” he said. The same programme has previously been used to issue threats against European capitals — in recent months Solovyov stated, without any apparent hesitation, that Russia would “have to destroy Berlin” and “enter Paris again”.

Italy’s Response

The reaction in Rome was swift and crossed party lines. President Sergio Mattarella sent Meloni a message of solidarity, expressing indignation at the Russian host’s remarks. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto called on the Russian embassy to publicly distance itself from the attack. Opposition leaders also rallied behind the prime minister: Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte and Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein both condemned the insults, with Schlein describing them as “unacceptable sexist attacks” and reminding “the Russian regime and its mouthpieces” that insulting Italian officials means insulting the entire country.

Meloni herself responded sharply. “A diligent regime propagandist cannot give lessons in either consistency or freedom. We, unlike others, have no strings, no masters and take no orders. Our only compass is the interest of Italy, and we will continue to follow it with pride,” she said in a statement posted on social media, without naming Solovyov directly.

The Ambassador’s Response

Paramonov’s reaction was dismissive. In a social media post, he said the Italian diplomatic authorities had “once again made a gross mistake by summoning me to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”. He insisted that “Meloni is a legitimate head of government, and no representative of Russian authorities has ever expressed offensive judgements towards her or Italy” and argued that “no reasonable person would ever think of interpreting someone’s personal assessments as official statements of a government.”

This was not the first time Solovyov singled out an Italian politician for abuse in their own language. Last year, he called Democratic MEP Pina Picierno a “disgrace to humanity, a beast, and a certified idiot” — again in Italian — after she spoke out against the spread of Russian propaganda in Italian media.