“The Russian flag will never fly over kyiv”, says Vitali Klitschko, son mayor
He is, after Volodimir Zelensky, the second face of the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invader. The mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, agreed to answer questions from France Bleu Occitanie during a long interview on Tuesday afternoon. The former boxing world champion (from 2004 to 2005, then from 2008 to 2013), who became mayor of kyiv in 2004, takes stock of the situation in the country and in his city.
“We’d rather die than get down on our knees“, he declares while his city is surrounded by the troops of Vladimir Putin.
Vitali Klitschko pays tribute to the international solidarity that has been organized for three weeks. It is also an opportunity for him to discuss with Jean-Luc Moudenc, the mayor of Toulouse, a city twinned with the Ukrainian capital since 1975.
Jean-Luc Moudenc took advantage of this interview to announce that in the coming days, 400,000 euros will be released by the city of Toulouse and by Toulouse Métropole for kyiv and Ukraine.
Interview with Vitali Klitschko
France Bleu Occitanie: Hello Vitali Klitschko, have you taken stock of the total number of dead or injured since the start of the intervention? Some figures spoke of 225 dead in the capital and 900 injured. Are these figures that you confirm?
Vitali Klitschko : I know that 80 buildings that housed civilians were hit and badly damaged. The figures are truly terrifying: eleven schools in kyiv and five kindergartens, nursery schools, deplore injuries, including 16 children. Until yesterday, it is known that 65 people have been killed, but it is possible that this figure will be higher in the coming days. In kyiv, before the war, there were three million inhabitants. It is considered that more than half have already left the city.
More than half of the inhabitants have left the city. Are you precisely afraid of not being able to find the number of inhabitants that kyiv had before the conflict?
For the moment, we must above all end this war and after that, we will be able to bring our inhabitants back and rebuild the city.
Vitali Klitschko, could you describe what the daily life of the inhabitants looks like?
Many people spend their days in the bomb shelters and some have been there for several weeks. There are very few people outside in the streets. We have a lot of checkpoints that privilege the identity of people moving. There are practically every street intersection because we have identified several people who caused the diversion on behalf of the occupants.
How does it feel to you as mayor, to see your city like that, almost deserted?
I see women crying, I see children crying, I see people in distress, houses that are destroyed, traces of shelling and rockets in my town. And I wonder how crazy you have to be to be able to bring such destruction and pain back to a free country and continue this stuff. I am talking about the leadership of the Russian government and decision makers. It is impossible to cause this kind of destruction to justify an alleged denazification and to hold this kind of propaganda speech.
“The Russian flag will never fly over our city. We would rather die than kneel.” (Vitali Klitschko)
Your city has been surrounded by the Russian army for several days. Is the capture of kyiv avoidable?
I am going to tell you a secret that is no longer a secret. Three weeks ago, the Russian armies planned to take Ukraine in three days. And that was three weeks ago and until today those plans have not been realized. They did not expect such resistance from the Ukrainians. I can explain it: Russian soldiers are contract soldiers who receive money for what they do. Our soldiers are fighting for their families, for their women, for their homes, for their land. And these two motivations are not comparable. The whole world is impressed by the fact that the Ukrainians are resisting one of the largest armies in the world. And as mayor of the city, I can tell you one more thing: Russian soldiers will never enter the city of kyiv and the Russian flag will never fly over our city. We would rather die than kneel down.
President Zelensky said he was ready to discuss with Vladimir Putin, including Crimea and Donbass. Can this be a solution for you to get out of this conflict?
It’s not a “conflict”, it’s war. It was provoked to destroy the Ukrainians. We are in the process of building a European country with European values where there is the right to speak, to the media, where there are all the democratic values. But President Putin aspires to rebuild the Russian Empire, an authoritarian system. We knew it when we were in the Soviet Union and we will never want to go back there. That is the reason for this war.
Vitali Klitschko, you, you are the mayor of kyiv which is twinned with the city of Toulouse and we are online with Jean-Luc Moudenc, the mayor of Toulouse, who would like to send you a message.
Jean-Luc Moudenc : I took the opportunity of this meeting to tell Vitali Klitschko what I wrote to him some time ago, on the very day of the Russian aggression. I would like to tell him of my friendship, to tell him of our solidarity. Every Sunday, people from Toulouse come together to protest, to demonstrate with the Ukrainians who live with us. We have obviously participated from the start in all the outpouring of solidarity, then in actions of solidarity towards the Ukrainian people. We are starting to welcome Ukrainian refugees. And I simply wanted to tell him my admiration for his determination, for the courage of the inhabitants of kyiv and of all Ukrainians. And also this understanding that we have of the fact that, beyond fighting for the independence of Ukraine, it is also a fight that goes beyond Ukraine, that is to say a fight for the values of Democracy and Europe.
“I wanted to tell Vitali of my admiration for his determination, for the courage of the people of kyiv and of all Ukrainians.” (Jean-Luc Moudenc, Mayor of Toulouse)
Vitali Klitschko : I thank the mayor of Toulouse and all those who allowed us today in these difficult times. It is in these times that we can see who are our enemies and who are our friends. We are very grateful for all the humanitarian aid that is sent to our city and to our country, and also for the warm welcome you offer to our war-displaced people. There is another help that we really need today: these are weapons and everything that can support the resistance of our army.
Concretely, what do you need materially? With the exception of weapons that a city obviously can’t provide you with…
Vitali Klitschko : The Russian occupiers want to completely encircle the country. When we see what is happening with Mariupol or Kharkiv, we know what our enemies’ plans are. There are thousands of dead, completely destroyed infrastructures, hospitals on the ground, and shortages of medicines and all other things necessary for the life of a city. At the moment, we are “shopping” by putting aside everything we can, because we don’t know how long this war will last. In kyiv, everything works, but we really see the humanitarian disaster that is playing out today in eastern Ukraine, and as the “boss” of the city, I have to do everything to foresee this type of thing. We are in the process of collecting as many donations as possible so that our inhabitants can survive the coming weeks and not starve.
“We are in the process of collecting as many donations as possible so that our inhabitants can survive the coming weeks and not starve.” (Vitali Klitschko)
Jean-Luc Moudenc, what more can you do for yourself as mayor of Toulouse?
Jean-Luc Moudenc : We should refine the match between what they need and what we have to give. There is a lot of work being done at the moment by non-governmental organizations and specialized associations. There are Ukrainians who are involved with the International Red Cross in such a way that the donations, the generosity of the people of Toulouse and the French are not useless and, on the contrary, they are adapted to the needs. And the message we are sending is that financial donations are to be preferred because we don’t know how long it will last. I am going to vote, this week in the Metropolis and next week at the town hall of Toulouse, a total envelope of some 400,000 euros in subsidies. Afterwards, we can also take political positions so that France and the European Union support Ukraine politically and diplomatically and continue to supply arms. I believe it is fundamental that our countries continue to support Ukraine militarily.
“I will vote, this week in the Metropolis and next week at the town hall of Toulouse, a total envelope of some 400,000 euros in subsidies.” (Jean-Luc Moudenc)
Vitali Klitschko : I can tell the mayor of Toulouse what we really need today. There is only one person who makes the decision to stop this war. So you have to press on Russia, where that person is, in the Kremlin. The sanctions work quite effectively. Also stop working with all Russian companies or companies that work in Russia, because every penny is given, not to the Russian population or economy, but to the military. This same army that is trying to destroy Ukraine. Also organize demonstrations at Russian consulates and embassies to support Ukraine so that the war can end. You have to be proactive and not wait because it can affect each of us.
“Organize also demonstrations at Russian consulates and embassies to support Ukraine!” (Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv)
Jean-Luc Moudenc do you agree?
Jean-Luc Moudenc : Yes I totally agree. We must maintain pressure on Russia, not let ourselves be impressed by the rantings of the Kremlin dictator. Keep pressing. Continue economic sanctions. We don’t know how long this will last. So you have to be in a state of mind that is not immediacy, but a constant alongside my Ukrainian friends.
Thank you, Mr Moudenc. Thank you very much Vitali Klitschko.
Vitali Klitschko : Thank you very much
This interview was translated by Myla Popenko.