Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday said her diplomatic adviser Francesco Maria Talò resigned over a prank call on Wednesday in which Meloni told two Russian comedians that European leaders are ‘tired’ of the war in Ukraine, thinking she was speaking with African Union officials.
“The call was dealt with carelessly and exposed the nation,” Meloni said, according to Italian press agency ANSA.
The leaked conversation came amid fears the West’s support for Ukraine will wane as international attention has been redirected to Israel since the attack by Hamas last month. Ukrainian politicians appealed to Europe not to abandon the country after the unintentional disclosure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the West not to let up in its support for Ukraine, saying in an interview with Time: “Exhaustion with the war rolls along like a wave. You see it in the United States, in Europe.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine could not survive for more than “a week” without Western military and financial aid, Al Jazeera reported last month.