PRZEMYSL, Poland – Matteo Salvini travelled to this Polish border city to help Ukrainian refugees fleeing war, but was refused a warm welcome by Mayor Wojciech Bakun, despite having a similar political leaning, who flagged the League party leader’s long-running reluctance to condemn Vladimir Putin, Il Fatto Quotidiano said.

 A small group of Italians in the city were shouting “buffone” (buffoon) at Salvini when he arrived. Mayor Bakun met the far-right party leader, but showed he would not receive him into the town hall.

 "Come with me to the border and condemn Putin," the mayor said to Salvini, who replied in English, “Sorry, we are here for taking help refugees, children.”

 Mayor Bakun brandished a white T-shirt depicting Putin’s bust in military uniform, identical to one worn by Salvini in Moscow’s Red Square in 2017, which says “The Russian Army” in cyrillic.

 "We are not interested in the controversy of the Italian or Polish left, we are here to help those fleeing the war,” The League leader said. However, Mayor Bakun is a member of Kukiz'15, a small right-wing nationalist and populist movement founded by a punk rock singer, Paweł Kukiz. 

 Salvini had said that he wanted to go to Ukraine with Caritas and the Red Cross, but both organisations rejected any collaboration. 

ln