Home › Politics › What did Kyiv and Rome face by 7 November 2023?
What did Kyiv and Rome face by 7 November 2023?
Summary
A look back at two reports from early November 2023 that put pressure on Ukraine's politics and its European partnerships.
What was weighing on Ukraine's political scene on 7 November 2023? Two reports from the preceding days set the mood: one about losses at the front, the other about the mood among its European partners.
On 3 November, a Russian missile strike killed more than 20 Ukrainian soldiers at an awards ceremony near the front line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the incident could have been avoided, amid anger over the losses.
A day earlier, on 2 November, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said European leaders were tired of the war in Ukraine and wanted to broker a deal with the Kremlin. She said a way out was needed. She made the remarks during a phone call in which she believed she was speaking with a senior African Union official. In fact, she was speaking to the Russian comedians Vovan and Lexus.
Taken together, the reports showed a domestic debate over responsibility for battlefield losses and a prank call that exposed a prime minister's private remarks about the war's course.
