The mayor of Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, and his brother, a champion boxer, have been photographed in military uniform after pledging they would fight to protect the city.
A photo of Klitschko, himself a Hall of Fame boxer, in Ukrainian uniform circulated social media on Friday, a day after he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain he “had no other choice but take up arms” to defend Kyiv.
“I don’t have another choice,” Klitschko said. “I have to do that. I will be fighting.”
Asked whether Ukraine could fend off Russia, Klitschko said, “I believe in Ukraine.”
Klitschko, 50, has been mayor of the city since 2014 and head of the Kyiv City State Administration.
Ukrainians are not backing down. This is the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko.#RussiaUkraineWar pic.twitter.com/tM2Y1j0EMJ
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) February 25, 2022
His brother, Wladimir Klitschko, also a Hall of Fame heavyweight champion, enlisted in Ukraine’s army reserve earlier this month and will also join the fight, according to ESPN.
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Ukraine has enacted martial law following Russia’s invasion early Thursday morning, barring men aged 18 to 60 years old from leaving the country, with some exceptions.
Ukraine claimed nearly 3,000 Russians were killed on the first day of fighting. The country also says it destroyed nearly 600 tanks and armored vehicles and over 17 warplanes and helicopters.
