Meloni on her way to Kyiv, set to meet Zelensky

(ANSA) - PREMIER'S TRAIN, FEB 21 - Premier Giorgia Meloni was travelling to Kyiv on Tuesday for her first visit to war-torn Ukraine since becoming the head of government last year.
    She crossed the border Polish-Ukrainian overnight on a special coach on a blue train that departed from Przemysl and stopped at Lviv for checks at around 2am.
    The premier and her delegation, which features Cabinet Undersecretary Giovanbattista Fazzolari, arrived on Monday in Warsaw, where she had talks with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda.
    Meloni is expected to visit some of the sites of symbolic importance for the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion in the morning and have talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the afternoon.
    Meloni, who was sworn in as Italy's first woman premier last October, has continued the policy of her predecessor, ex-premier Mario Draghi, of staunchly supporting Kyiv and has continued to send military aid .
    She had said that intended to visit Ukraine before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion later this week.
    She is expected to stress to Zelensky that Italy's support for Kyiv will be unwavering as long as she is in charge.
    Her visit comes after furore over comments critical of Zelensky by ex-premier and Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi, one of her alliance partners.
    Another, Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, has expressed reservations in the past about the policy of sending military aid to Ukraine.
    League leader Salvini, who used to be an admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has criticised Moscow's invasion of its neighbour. (ANSA).