Italian state media journalist says sorry for airing Nazi SS content
Rai News’ Ilario Piagnerelli expressed that he “deeply regrets” the interview conducted with a Ukrainian soldier displaying Nazi insignia. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
An Italian journalist who recently conducted an interview with a Ukrainian soldier displaying Nazi insignia has issued an apology.
Ilario Piagnerelli, a reporter for the Italian state broadcaster Rai News 24, expressed his “deep regret” regarding the interview, but he also described the backlash on social media as a pro-Russian propaganda effort.
In a clip that circulated online, Piagnerelli is shown conversing with a man wearing a khaki cap featuring the insignia of the ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ SS division, a unit prosecuted for war crimes by the Nuremberg Tribunal after World War II. However, as of Monday morning, the footage was removed from Piagnerelli’s X account.
“I deeply regret having given voice, even if only for a few seconds, to a Ukrainian soldier who I only noticed wearing a patch with a Nazi symbol after the report aired,” Piagnerelli wrote on X on Monday.
“I grew up with a partisan grandfather, one of the real ones, who today would have no doubts in distinguishing between invader and invaded, between those who resist and those who occupy. I was educated in the values of the Constitution.”
Piagnerelli went on to discuss an alleged “network of pro-invasion profiles linked to Moscow in Italy, which dedicates its resources to discrediting my work and that of other correspondents. They pretend to be shocked, but they have found in that image a formidable argument for anti-Ukrainian propaganda,” he asserted.
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Rai of “sinking to a new low,” with spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stating that “the Western media continue to engage in the deliberate rehabilitation of Ukrainian neo-Nazis and a revision of the Nuremberg Tribunal verdicts.”
Zakharova asserted that Piagnerelli had already "distinguished himself with stories about Bucha and a dead neo-Nazi from Pravy Sektor [Right Sector]," and claimed he has now “sunk to new depths ...”
“It is possible that next time Piagnerelli will film a Ukronazi with the symbols of the SS division ‘Reichsfuhrer SS,’” she remarked, referring to a unit infamous for what is believed to be the worst massacre in Western Europe during World War II.
Over the weekend, Rai recalled two of its reporters back to Italy after Moscow initiated a criminal probe regarding their unauthorized presence in Russia’s Kursk Region. Following that, the broadcaster aired a report on a Ukrainian cross-border assault into the region, featuring a crew of journalists embedded with Ukrainian forces who ventured deep into Russian territory.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
Ilario Piagnerelli, a reporter for the Italian state broadcaster Rai News 24, expressed his “deep regret” regarding the interview, but he also described the backlash on social media as a pro-Russian propaganda effort.
In a clip that circulated online, Piagnerelli is shown conversing with a man wearing a khaki cap featuring the insignia of the ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ SS division, a unit prosecuted for war crimes by the Nuremberg Tribunal after World War II. However, as of Monday morning, the footage was removed from Piagnerelli’s X account.
“I deeply regret having given voice, even if only for a few seconds, to a Ukrainian soldier who I only noticed wearing a patch with a Nazi symbol after the report aired,” Piagnerelli wrote on X on Monday.
“I grew up with a partisan grandfather, one of the real ones, who today would have no doubts in distinguishing between invader and invaded, between those who resist and those who occupy. I was educated in the values of the Constitution.”
Piagnerelli went on to discuss an alleged “network of pro-invasion profiles linked to Moscow in Italy, which dedicates its resources to discrediting my work and that of other correspondents. They pretend to be shocked, but they have found in that image a formidable argument for anti-Ukrainian propaganda,” he asserted.
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Rai of “sinking to a new low,” with spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stating that “the Western media continue to engage in the deliberate rehabilitation of Ukrainian neo-Nazis and a revision of the Nuremberg Tribunal verdicts.”
Zakharova asserted that Piagnerelli had already "distinguished himself with stories about Bucha and a dead neo-Nazi from Pravy Sektor [Right Sector]," and claimed he has now “sunk to new depths ...”
“It is possible that next time Piagnerelli will film a Ukronazi with the symbols of the SS division ‘Reichsfuhrer SS,’” she remarked, referring to a unit infamous for what is believed to be the worst massacre in Western Europe during World War II.
Over the weekend, Rai recalled two of its reporters back to Italy after Moscow initiated a criminal probe regarding their unauthorized presence in Russia’s Kursk Region. Following that, the broadcaster aired a report on a Ukrainian cross-border assault into the region, featuring a crew of journalists embedded with Ukrainian forces who ventured deep into Russian territory.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
