🔺 EXCLUSIVE: The man marshalling the defences and the morale of Kyiv is not your average politician
thetimes.co.uk/article/vitali…
thetimes.co.uk/article/vitali…
Thoughtful, a bit of a philosopher according to one of his aides, the mayor of Ukraine’s capital has a PhD and a disarming ability to conduct interviews in four languages
Vitali Klitschko is also a former world heavyweight boxing champion, and it is the pugilistic side of him we know best
Even to those who did not follow his frightening but illustrious career in the ring — 41 knockouts in 47 professional fights — his giant form is now familiar from the television news as he tours the latest scene of devastation in his city 
“Bullshit!” he answered succinctly to a reporter who asked him this week what he thought of claims by President Putin that his jets and artillery were not targeting civilians
The response had all the timing of a boxer’s right hook, and the style of a boxer in a pre-bout press conference
When @RichardJSpencer spoke to him the next day by Skype from his office in town (interviews in person are out of bounds for security reasons) he was able to switch his internal channel quickly from rhetorical denunciation to more considered outreach
🗣 "It’s our wish to be part of the European family. Our wish doesn’t accept the president of Russia. His goal is to rebuild the Soviet empire, to rebuild the Russian empire and Ukraine is a very important part of his empire"
Then he turns to what he thinks about Russians themselves. As a sportsman he has travelled all over the world, and has “many Russian friends”, he says, “but every morning, 24 hours, they receive lies from the television, from newspapers"
🗣 "They believe in Putin, they don’t believe in true information, they see the whole world ready to fight against Russia. They are proud of their country but they don’t know the truth"
This is not, though, a reflection of what Klitschko feels about Russian culture — he denies that what has happened represents some sort of essential culture clash between East and West
Klitschko's father was a major-general in the Soviet army, and he grew up in a loyal Soviet family — until the start of his boxing career coincided with perestroika, the 1980s opening up-of the eastern bloc overseen by President Gorbachev
His father argued that what young Klitschko had seen in America were fake cities set up to deceive people, that capitalism was bad, that it was exploitation of the poorest by the richest.
But change was happening for ordinary people, not just sportsmen, and even major-generals
But change was happening for ordinary people, not just sportsmen, and even major-generals
🗣 “I had a chance a couple of years later to bring to the West my father, to the US and show him and he was very impressed. He agreed it was true!”
That is a transformation in thinking that many older Ukrainians have come to make
That is a transformation in thinking that many older Ukrainians have come to make
The mayor is stockpiling food and supplies for a siege, but one that he is confident will never come, as the Russian advance stalls. Like Zelensky, it may be his star power that is more important than his logistical abilities
🗣 "People pay attention to you, and accept or not what you are doing. Popularity has an impact"
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