Italy's premier defends her friendship with Musk and asserts her independence

MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday defended her friendship with U.S. tech billionaire and Trump confidant Elon Musk, telling Italian lawmakers that she would not be influenced in areas where he has economic interests.

“I can be a friend of Elon Musk and at the same time the head of the first Italian government that made a new law to regulate private activity in space,’’ she said, responding to questions during a customary parliamentary discussion ahead of a European Union summit in Brussels this week.

Meloni has met frequently with the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire since her far-right-led government came to power in 2022, keen to bring investments in Italy. Meloni’s government this summer approved a framework for foreign space companies to operate in Italy, which is expected to generate 7.3 billion euros ($7.7 billion) in investments by 2026.

Taking a swipe at her predecessors, she said previous Italian leaders “who thought they had a good relationship, even a friendship, with a foreign leader, they had to slavishly follow what the others did.”

Meloni added that she had good relationships “with many people" but “I don’t take orders from anyone.”

Meloni and Musk’s friendship has attracted attention in the past. Musk denied a romantic relationship last September after a photo of them looking fondly at each other went viral. The two were at a black-tie event in New York where Musk had presented Meloni with an award.

Musk appeared a year ago at an event for youth members of Meloni’s party in Italy. More recently, he took to social media platform X, which he controls, to attack an Italian court decision that has stymied Meloni’s plans to vet migrants rescued at sea in Albania. Musk's comments drew a strong rebuke from Italy's president.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, left, and Minister for European Affairs Tommaso Foti talk during the Senate session in Rome, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024 (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gestures during the Senate session in Rome, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024 (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gestures during the Senate session in Rome, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024. (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, centre, gestures during the Senate session in Rome, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024. (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)