Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says Vladimir Putin sent him a crate of vodka along with a "sweet letter", according to leaked audio.
The outspoken leader of the Forza Italia party courted controversy last month when he claimed the Russian President had sought to put "decent people " in charge of Ukraine following the invasion earlier this year.
A long-time friend of Putin's, he also said he had been "pushed" into beginning the military action, which has since left thousands of civilians dead.
