"Can't count the corpses": Moving speech by Kiev's mayor Klitschko in the Munich city council

Created: 03/23/2022, 11:56 am

By: Franziska Konrad

Moving appearance in the Munich city council: Vitali Klitschko, mayor of the besieged Ukrainian capital Kyiv, reported there on the war in his country - and found clear words.

Munich - Every morning when he gets up, Vitali Klitschko thinks "that it's all just a nightmare".

But then reality catches up with the mayor of Kyiv: In his home country, Ukraine, war has been raging for weeks since Russia attacked.

As a sister city, Munich has close ties to the Ukrainian capital.

On Wednesday morning, March 23, Klischko was connected to the Munich City Council via video link.

In an emotional speech, he reported on the war in his country.

Ukraine war: Klitschko's emotional speech in Munich - "Thousands of people will die"

Klitschko began his speech very thoughtfully.

If someone had told him two months ago that Russia would attack Ukraine, the former professional boxer would not have believed them.

Now his city is being fired at with rockets that "kill every human life within a radius of 500 meters," said Klitschko.

"The rockets land in the middle of the city." This is not an attack on the military, but on the population.

He cannot say how many Ukrainians have died so far: "We cannot count the bodies." Thousands of people have already died.

"Thousands of people will die, the entire infrastructure will be destroyed." Klitschko also spoke of "huge losses" on the part of the Russians and "70 tons" of bodies that had been brought back to Russia.

The Russians, according to Kiev's mayor, did not count the bodies, but only gave an overall weight.

"Dreadful?

Yes."

Millions of refugees from Ukraine are currently on the run.

"The city is half empty." Klitschko hears explosions near Kyiv every hour.

He can feel for himself how the buildings tremble from the impacts.

The aim of Russian President Waldimir Putin is to build a large Russian empire: "This ambition is much more important than living people and much more important than peace in Europe." Klitschko warned: "We do not know where Putin's ambitions end."

Ukraine war: Klitschko warns - "Don't know where Putin's ambitions end"

In the video transmission, Klitschko also showed rocket parts.

The missiles are filled with metal parts and designed to kill people en masse.

"This is genocide." The situation in Ukraine is dramatic, Klitschko continued.

No one ever thought they'd have to pick up a gun.

Rockets regularly hit private houses.

Many desperate residents turn to Klitschko.

He was shocked and touched by the statement of a victim: "I've spent my whole life in this city.

Here is my family and my friends.

I'm asking you for a gun to defend my city.” People are very angry, Klitschko clarifies.

“There will never be Russians in Kyiv.

We'd rather die than let the aggressor into our city.

We will not be slaves,” the former professional boxer continues.

We have nothing against Russia.

But we are very much against an aggressive Russian policy

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko in the Munich City Council

Klitschko has great hopes for the Russian population.

They must oppose the government.

He hopes that the sanctions against the country will have an effect.

Klischko, whose first language was Russian, "grew up with propaganda," he said.

It was only his numerous trips to the West that showed him how wrong the image that the Soviet leadership conveyed to its citizens at the time was.

"We have nothing against Russia," emphasized Klitschko.

"But we are very much against an aggressive Russian policy."

Ukraine war: Kiev's mayor asks for support - "Fighting for everyone in Germany"

The mayor of Kyiv asked for support.

"We are not fighting for our city and for our country, we are fighting today for values ​​and principles that are currently being broken by the Russians," said Klitschko.

"We are also fighting for you, for everyone in Germany." He emphasized: "We are Europeans." He called on Germany to end economic relations with Russia, even if that was difficult.

"Russia invests every euro, every cent, in its army." It is not possible to support Ukraine and be friendly to Russia at the same time.

"It's about life for us."

Klitschko ended his emotional speech - and the Munich City Council applauded standing.

Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) was also deeply touched by Klitschko's words - and at the same time angry at the Russian ruler Putin.

"You're not just fighting for yourselves, but for the democracy of all of us," Reiter appealed to Kiev's mayor.

Munich is on the side of Kyiv.

You can find more news from Munich at Merkur.de/Muenchen