He swapped his boxing gloves for weapons to defend his city. The mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, says he is ready to do anything to defend kyiv against Russian soldiers who threaten to surround the Ukrainian capital. Former world boxing champion, heavyweight category, he embodies with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the resistance of an entire country against Russia. Portrait of an extraordinary champion who entered politics by vocation, and war by necessity. Replay.
Gazing at the telephone he is holding at arm’s length, Vitali Klitschko addresses the inhabitants of kyiv. It is March 15, the Russian army is threatening to encircle the city and the mayor of the Ukrainian capital is appealing to all men of fighting age. ” The capital is the heart of Ukraine, it will be defended. Kyiv is the outpost and symbol of Europe’s security and freedom. We won’t give it up and we won’t let them bring us to our knees. »
Since the beginning of the conflict, the mayor of kyiv has multiplied messages on social networks to encourage Ukrainians to resist. And shows itself present on all fronts, bulletproof vest on the back, automatic weapon at hand: at the checkpointson the barricades, in the air-raid shelters… Astonishing destiny that of this former boxing champion who became mayor of a besieged capital.
“A chin of steel”
Because, before entering politics, Vitali Klitschko was one of the most gifted boxers of his generation, several times world champion in the heavyweight category, like his brother Wladimir, five years his junior. ” Vitali was endowed with extraordinary physical qualities, slower than his brother, but with mental solidity and a chin of steel », recalls the journalist Jean-Philippe Lustyk, author of Boxing Ledger(Ed. Marabout). ” E you one of the main qualities of a boxer is his ability to resist, to take punches. Vitali had devastating power as he suffered only two defeats in his career and has 41 knockouts to his credit… This is one of the highest ratios in the history of boxing! »
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With his brother Wladimir, he won all the titles and imposed his law on the rings in the 2000s. A pact and a promise bound them, made to their mother, that of never fighting each other. ” They had enormous discipline, inherited from their father who was a general in the Soviet army, one of the “liquidators” of Chernobyl “recalls Jean-Philippe Lustyk. ” They also had enormous courage and a behavior in the ring that corresponded to their behavior in life: no provocations, no language gaps… Sufficiency, pride inherent in champions, but also righteousness and great intelligence since the two made scientific studies.»
One of the Maidan leaders
In the 2000s, crowned by his successes in the ring, Vitali Klitschko tried for the first time to impose himself in politics. He failed twice to seize the town hall of kyiv, but already demonstrates a certain know-how. ” Among other sports greats who tried to enter politics in the 2000s, he was the most prepared“says journalist Volodymyr Yermolenko. ” There have been other attempts, such as that of Andriy Shevchenko, our football star, for example, but Klitschko, from the start, showed a certain political maturity.»
The political career of Vitali Klitschko will really take off thanks to Maidan, the pro-European movement that broke out in kyiv in 2014. He was very involved from the beginning, and he became one of the three leaders of the movement with Arseny Yatsenyuk and Oleh Tyahnybok. Yatseniouk was more of an intellectual, Tyahnybok was a nationalist leader, but Klitchko was more of the “strong” side of Maidan.»
Mayors on the front line
After Maidan Vitali Klitschko plans to run for the presidency, but he gives up and ends up supporting Petro Poroshenko, who will be beaten in 2019 by Volodymyr Zelensky. But the former boxer manages to conquer the town hall of kyiv, a position that has become very important in Ukraine due to decentralization reforms, which have given more power to large cities. These reforms also explain, in the eyes of Volodymyr Yermolenko, the crucial role played since the start of the war by the mayors of towns besieged by the Russian army.
This spirit of decentralization is very important in Ukraine and therefore everything does not go through Zelensky alone, there is a plurality of power in Ukraine which is very important now. And it’s not only Klitchko, it’s also the mayor of Kharkiv who plays an important role, it’s also that of Chernihiv, or that of Mikolaiev. This spirit of resistance comes from the people, from the communities, from each citizen and it is obviously represented by the cities, by the local authorities.
Now 51, Vitali Klitschko has joined the reserve troops of the Ukrainian army like his brother, ready to fight with arms in hand to defend his city. A final fight for the former boxer who has become one of the figures of the Ukrainian resistance.