Russians should understand that they are not welcome in Italy, they should receive a "cultural rebuff" from this country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with RAI 1 broadcaster, distributed on Friday.

Answering a question about Italy's help, Zelensky said that in Russia there is trust in Italy's "cultural mediation", so "through trust, through journalism, you can bring the truth to Russian society, which is in an information cocoon.

"They should receive blows – I'm talking about sanctions policy. I am grateful to Prime Minister Draghi. Italy has joined all the sanctions. But I think there should be strong steps on tourism," the president said.

"We all love coming to Italy. Russian tourists should get a cultural response, so they know they are not welcome. They should not live in comfort. There should be no accounts in Italy, no real estate. Ordinary people should be told that their vacation in Italy is over. You are occupying someone else's territory. Occupiers can't be treated the same as everyone else," Zelensky said