Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday called on Italians to switch off gas and electricity for an hour a day in solidarity with Ukraine, which has been under Russian attack for 10 months.
Moscow has intensified missile and drone attacks on Ukraine since October, hitting critical infrastructure and leaving many areas of the country without power amid sub-zero temperatures.
"To understand what the Ukrainians are going through, I ask all Italians to switch off all energy sources for one hour a day," Meloni said on Thursday, during a speech in Rome to a gathering of Italian ambassadors.
Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party often stresses the importance of nationalism and patriotism, paid tribute to Ukrainians "who are defending their freedom and their love for their country."
Meloni has pledged to keep supplying arms to Ukraine, despite friction on the issue within her rightist ruling coalition and a divided public opinion.
(Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri, editing by Gavin Jones and Keith Weir)
