Ukrainian boxing star Wladimir Klitschko spoke about the “terrifying reality of war” when Vladimir Putin’s troops fight alongside his brother.
The former world heavyweight champion and his brother, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, took up arms to repel a Russian convoy approaching the capital, saying they were “ready to die” to defend their homeland.
The 45-year-old has now called for Russia to be isolated from all sporting events, warning that Ukrainian women and children are “dying at the hands of the country’s aggression.”
He urged governing bodies to follow in the footsteps of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after authorities recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials be banned from international competition.
It follows Vladimir posted a video on Monday showing his trip to a maternity ward in Kyiv, where 82 babies have been born since the start of the Russian invasion.
In the video, he said, “Life goes on. Since the beginning of the war, 82 children have been born in this hospital alone. New Ukrainians are arriving, and they will be arriving daily.”
Wladimir Klitschko (pictured left), 45, and his brother, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko (right), took up arms to repel a Russian convoy approaching the capital.
The former world heavyweight champion (pictured in 2013) called for Russia to be isolated from all sporting events, warning that Ukrainian women and children “are dying at the hands of the country’s aggression.”
Volodymyr (right) congratulates newlywed servicemen of the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine after their wedding ceremony at a checkpoint in Kyiv on March 6.
But after what appeared to be an attempt to boost the morale of terrified residents, he now warned of the scale of civilian casualties since the invasion began.
Klitschko told the Daily Mirror: “Boxing is a sport, it is a war and our people are dying.
“During this conversation with you, innocent women, children and civilians will be confronted with bombs, missiles and the horrific reality of war.
“People say this is the biggest battle of my life, and I agree – it’s so sad to realize how terrible war is.”
He thanked the British for their support but urged them to go further by supporting the campaign to keep Russian athletes out of world sporting events.
Citing criticism of the UK’s response to the Ukrainian refugee emergency, he agreed that it was “pathetic” and said “more can always be done”.
Vladimir visits a checkpoint in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 6. His latest comments came after he sent out a video urging the Western world to stand up against “Russian aggression.”
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By Sunday evening, only 50 emergency visas had been issued despite 13,500 Ukrainians applying to enter the UK.
Vladimir’s latest comments came after he sent out a video message in which he called on the Western world to oppose “Russian aggression.”
The ring legend said: “I call on all international partners to watch this tragedy that is happening today in Ukraine and this senseless war in which there will be neither winners nor losers.
“I just want to tell you that we must remain united against this aggression, this Russian aggression.
“Don’t let this continue in Ukraine, don’t let this happen in Europe and eventually the world. Together we are strong. Support Ukraine, thank you.”
Vladimir’s brother Vitaly told CNN earlier: “We are not interested in how strong the Russian army is, we are ready to fight.
“And we are ready to die for our homeland and for our families, because this is our home. This is our future and someone wants to come to our house and steal our future from us.”
Vitaliy also welcomed the “amazing” and “huge patriotic movement” of Ukrainians who stayed behind to fight when “old men, doctors and actors” took up arms to create a makeshift army.
He added: “We are left in front of one of the strongest armies in the world.
“The desire to be independent is a top priority for us. And we protect our families, our city, our country and our future.
“Now there is a huge patriotic movement. Old people, can you imagine? Doctors, actors, actors from the theater, many professions that never had the hope of fighting, keeping weapons. But now they are coming to us, they are ready to fight. It’s amazing”.
An attempt to evacuate civilians from the bombed port of Mariupol and deliver food, water and medicine on Tuesday was jeopardized by Ukraine’s claims of continued shelling by Russian forces as conditions inside the strategic city of 430,000 became even more tense. desperate.
Corpses littered the streets of Mariupol, where besieged residents increasingly broke into shops to try to feed themselves.
People got water from streams or by melting snow.
Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II has gotten even worse, with UN officials saying 2 million people have fled Ukraine.
Moscow forces have laid siege to Ukrainian cities and cut off food, water, heating and medicine amid a growing humanitarian catastrophe.
But for several days, attempts to create corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians failed due to ongoing fighting and objections to the proposed routes.
Wladimir Klitschko visited a maternity hospital in Kyiv where 82 babies have been born since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Filming two tiny newborns in a short video posted to his Twitter account on Monday, he said: “Life goes on.”
One evacuation attempt on Tuesday proved at least partially successful after a bus convoy of people fleeing the fighting moved down a snow-covered road from Sumy, a city of a quarter of a million people in the country’s northeast, according to the footage. Ukrainian communications agency.
According to the Russian military, 723 people were evacuated from Sumy to Ukrainian Poltava. He identified them as mostly Indian citizens, with the rest coming from China, Jordan and Tunisia. There is no mention of Ukrainians among the evacuees.
Ukrainian authorities said that in the hours before the convoy arrived in Sumy, 21 people, including two children, were killed in night strikes.
Ukrainian officials also said a safe corridor had been opened from the warring town of Irpin near Kiev, but it is unclear how long it remained open and how many people used it.