Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, and his brother, Wladimir, vowed never to “give up” fighting for Ukraine as Russian forces near the city during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The mayor said Russians are targeting Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and they are “ready to fight” to defend their city against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces. Wladimir said the country’s people are fully motivated and prepared to end the war.
“There is nothing that possibly can break the wheel of our women and men,” Wladimir said. “We all stand together and we’re highly motivated to defend our country because this is our home. This is where our children work, go to school…this is our home. There’s no other way that we’re going to leave. And why, because this is our home. So we’ll defend the country.”
Vitali added that the key to ending the war is for everyone to stand in unity and sanction political pressure against Russia. (RELATED: ‘I Need Ammunition, Not A Ride’: Zelenskyy Rejects US Push To Evacuate, Will Stay And Fight Russia)
Host Dana Bash asked whether the mayor is concerned about Russia potentially attacking with chemical weapons.
“Of course, we’re worried,” Vitali said. “Putin said this was just a war against military forces, we can see thousands of civilians and also children died. Just a couple of minutes ago we received information that the journalist [from America] has also died. This war [is] against all [the] Ukrainian population. We don’t know how long this war will be but we don’t want to give up. It’s a principled question for us.”
Bash cited reports of Russian forces taking mayors captive, then asked Vitali if he is concerned about being a target.
“Yes, of course. Right now, every Ukrainian is a target,” Vitali continued. “Every Ukrainian. And Russians [say] it’s not a war against civilians. Every mayor represents a community … I don’t worry about me, I am ready to fight and ready to defend the interest of citizens.”
Ukrainian officials accused Russia of abducting two mayors in order to replace them with pro-Russian leaders, the Washington Post reported. Ukraine President Volodymy Zelenskyy said officials kidnapped the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, who had encouraged demonstrations against the invasion.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, accused Russia of taking the mayor of Dniprorudne, Yevhen Matveyev, captive on Sunday.
Today, Russian war criminals abducted another democratically elected Ukrainian mayor, head of Dniprorudne Yevhen Matveyev. Getting zero local support, invaders turn to terror. I call on all states & international organizations to stop Russian terror against Ukraine and democracy. pic.twitter.com/jEPTBTLikY
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 13, 2022
Zelenskyy called the kidnapping of Fedorov a “crime against democracy” and warned that Russian forces have entered “a new stage of terror” in a Saturday address, according to the Post.
The United Nations reported 1,581 civilian casualties in a Saturday report, including at least 579 deaths, including 42 children, though the actual numbers are higher.
