As of: April 3, 2024, 7:14 p.m
By: Patrick Mayer
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Vitali Klitschko sees Kiev still in the crosshairs of Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin. The mayor and ex-boxer has a message for Moscow.
Kiev – The front appears relatively far away in the Ukraine war. For example, it is around 550 kilometers from Kiev to Bakhmut in the east. Kherson, in the south of the battered country, is located on the Black Sea around 430 kilometers from the Ukrainian capital.
Vitali Klitschko: Kiev remains a target for Vladimir Putin in the Ukraine war
A look back: In February and March 2022, invasion troops from Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin from Russia tried in vain to penetrate the city with its around 2.8 million inhabitants from the north and northeast. Instead, thousands of Russian soldiers were repulsed at various points along the city limits. Of course, that didn't banish war. In the last few weeks in particular, the metropolis on the Dnipro has again been the target of treacherous Russian air strikes.
If Kiev's mayor has his way, a Russian ground offensive on the prestigious city remains a realistic (and threatening) scenario. “Kiev was a target and remains a target for Putin because the capital is the heart of the country,” Klitschko told
Bild am Sonntag
. At the same time, he reiterated: “We know that and we are much better prepared than we were two years ago for possible new attacks.” Klitschko said that all scenarios always have to be taken into account: “If Putin makes a decision like that, then it will be a bloody decision. “
Former boxing champion and mayor of Kiev: Vitali Klitschko. © Sergei Chuzavkov/Imago
Kiev in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin supposedly sees it as the birthplace of Russia
What makes Kiev so important for Putin? This can currently be seen in the documentary series “Turning Points” on the streaming service Netflix, which traces the path from the fall of the Soviet Union to the war between the two neighboring states at Putin’s behest. “One cannot attribute enough importance to Ukraine's role in Soviet history and in the present. For Putin, it is the birthplace of Russia and inevitably belongs to Russia,” explains Mary Elise Sarotte, an American historian and the author of the book “The Collapse,” in the documentary. The story goes: Putin is known for idiosyncratically crafting his own view of history and then acting accordingly.
“Nothing is stronger than the determination of millions of people who see themselves as part of Russia because of their culture, religion, traditions and language, and whose ancestors have lived in the same country for centuries,” claimed the autocratic ruler from the Kremlin for example in a speech on September 30, 2022. To put it into perspective: In the Middle Ages, Kiev was the center of power of the first Russian empire, Kievan Rus, the precursor state of what later became Russia. This is why Kiev has the nickname “mother of all Russian cities”, which was discussed by the Slavic scholar and German university professor Sebastian Kempgen in a lecture at the University of Bamberg. According to the scientist, the nickname comes from the former prince Oleg, who appropriated Kiev in 882 and thus laid the foundation for Kievan Rus.
Kiev was and remains a target for Putin because the capital is the heart of the country.
Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kiev in “Bild am Sonntag”
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However, since 1991 and the end of the communist Soviet Union, Kiev has been the capital of a democratic, sovereign and independent Ukraine, which Putin probably wants to reverse, while in Russia itself there are currently many questions unanswered about the terrorist attack near Moscow. Putin's army suffered a serious defeat in the battle for the strategically important Kiev-Hostomel airport outside the city gates on February 24th and 25th, 2022, immediately after the start of the attack that violated international law. Airborne troops with Mi-8 helicopters and Ka-52 attack helicopters were unable to capture the airport, which was supposed to serve as a bridgehead for the planned occupation of the capital.
Mechanized Russian units were also pushed back a few kilometers northeast of Brovary and in Irpin and Butscha in the northwest of the metropolis. After the Russians withdrew from the Kiev suburbs in spring 2022, a massacre of hundreds of civilians in the small town of Butscha became known. It is considered one of the worst crimes ever in this war that the Kremlin leader launched.
Ukrainian capital Kiev: Vitali Klitschko asks for more air defense
Former professional boxer Vitali Klitschko, who has close contact with Germany, has been mayor of Kiev since May 2014 and, in this role, has already made numerous requests in the West for more help for his attacked country. The 52-year-old politician did so again this time.
Ukraine urgently needs more Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, he told
Bild am Sonntag
, “and more ways to protect the people.” According to Ukrainian information, the so-called “Battle of Kiev” will take place between February 24th and April 2nd, 2022 An estimated 162 soldiers from the regular army and the territorial defense were killed.
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