Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian prime minister, has blamed President Volodymyr Zelensky for pushing President Vladimir Putin’s Russia to invade Ukraine.

The New York Times reported, based on a leaked recording, that Mr Berlusconi said Mr Putin’s real goal was to capture Kyiv and oust Mr Zelensky from power. 

The comments were made during a closed meeting with the newly elected Forza senators in the Palazzo Montecitori.

In the audio, Mr Berlusconi blamed Ukraine for violating the Minsk agreement in the Donbas territories, saying the killing of “five, six, seven thousand” people in the regions led to the appeal to Mr Putin for protection.

“They say, ‘Vladimir, we don’t know what to do. Defend us.’ He is against any initiative, he resists, he is under heavy pressure from the entire Russia,” Mr Berlusconi is quoted as saying on the audio published on La Presse. “So he decides to invent a special operation: the troops were supposed to enter Ukraine, reach Kyiv in a week, depose the incumbent government, Zelensky and so on, and install a government already chosen by the Ukrainian minority” composed of more sensible leaders.”

Mr Berlusconi noted the resistance that Moscow met upon attacking due to the “unexpected and unforeseen” resistance and funding and weapons from the West.

“On Day 3, a special operation that was supposed to have lasted two weeks has become a war that will last some 200-plus years. So that’s how things stand,” Mr Berlusconi added. “I don’t see how Putin and Zelensky can sit down at the negotiating table. Because there is no possible way. Zelensky, in my opinion… forget it, I can’t say…” 

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, but Ukrainian forces retook large areas around Kyiv in early April. Ukraine recaptured 6,000 sq km (2,317 square miles) of territory from Russia in early September when it forced back Russian units in the Kharkiv region.

Moscow has suffered heavy losses since the invasion began, and significant quantities of Russian weaponry have also been destroyed or captured. 

World powers have rallied in support of Ukraine, rolling out swathes of sanctions and moving to isolate Russia from the global community, as well as supplying Ukraine with arms and defence systems. 

Last week, Britain said it would send anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine to help defend its skies against Russian attacks, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced.

NATO defence ministers discussed additional support for Ukraine in Brussels, and Britain said it would contribute to a funding package to help provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including winter clothes, shelters, generators, fuel trucks and ambulances.