The image of Vitali Klitschko, bullhorn in hand, mayhem all around him, is unforgettable. In November and December 2013, the Hall of Fame boxer had just ended his career, and was leading what became known as the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv, Ukraine.
A partially burned bus, its windows broken, sits still behind him, evidence of the danger in the streets.
As Klitschko begins to speak into the microphone, a man steps up with a fire extinguisher and sprays him in the face. Klitschko briefly disappears behind the cloud of white.
Seconds later after security pushes him out of danger, he emerges, an angry look on his face. His face is covered with soot, as if someone had thrown a handful of flour on him.
For those who knew and admired Klitschko during his epic run as one of boxing’s great heavyweights, it was a frightening, worrisome time.
Yet, more than eight years years later, those protests seem mild compared to what Klitschko faces today. Russia invaded Ukraine and attacked it on Thursday, starting a war.
Vitali Klitschko never has run from a fight before, and isn’t about to now. This one, though, is one that may well kill him.
He is the mayor of Kyiv, but he’s become the leader of Ukraine’s defensive efforts against Russia. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a one-time stand-up comedian, spent the past several weeks condemning Russia’s military building up and asking for a diplomatic solution. He accomplished little to nothing.
Klitschko has made it clear he wants peace. The difference in him with most is that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that peace.
Klitschko is going to lead out front. Asked Thursday by "Good Morning Britain" if he’d take up arms and fight himself, Klitschko never hesitated.
“I don’t have another choice,” he said. “I have to do that.”
He does have another choice. He could work with other political leaders in Ukraine to develop strategies and to seek assistance from NATO and other allies.
He’s a brilliant man with the courage to match his fearsome size and strength, and he knows how important he is to his fellow citizens.
But once a fighter, always a fighter. Klitschko, who was born in the former Soviet Union, believes Ukraine should be free and independent. He believes it would help the country economically and culturally to become part of the European Union.
If Ukraine joins the EU and prospers, it’s likely going to make several other former Soviet states follow suit. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who organized and launched the attack on Ukraine, does not want that.
“Our eastern neighbor is not happy with our decision to become part of the European family,” Klitschko told the U.K.'s Channel 4 News last month. “We do not want to return to the USSR. We were in the USSR and we see our future as part of a European family. Mr. Putin disagrees. They have an idea to rebuild the Soviet Union, but we do not want to return to the USSR. We see our future as a free democracy.
“As a former officer, I spent a lot of time in the army. As a former soldier, I am ready to defend my country, to defend the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Will I fight in the war against Russia? Yes, of course. I will fight in the front lines.”
A leader on the front lines in a war zone is almost unthinkable in today’s world. But that decision to risk everything to rally his fellow citizens and defend his country’s sovereignty has had to make him a primary target of Putin and may mean he signed his own death warrant.
As an athlete, Klitschko has shown boundless courage in the face of extreme adversity throughout his career. He showed that in a boxing ring in 2003 when he fought Lennox Lewis in Los Angeles and suffered a gaping wound over his eye. He wanted to continue and protested vehemently when the referee decided the cut was too severe.
But that was nothing in comparison to what he’s doing now. He and his younger brother, Wladimir, who joined the Ukrainian Army reserves and will fight shoulder-to-shoulder with him, will be more remembered for what they’ve done in these days than for all the glory they ever attained in boxing.
So many of Putin’s critics have died since he assumed office that a leading Russian scholar, Amy Knight, wrote a book that was published in 2017 called, “Orders to Kill: The Putin Regime and Political Murder.”
The Klitschko brothers know this, and they know that as outspoken critics of Russia in general and of Putin in particular, they could be among the next of his detractors who Putin looks to silence.
There is an immense amount of bravery required to slip between the ropes and fight another man who has trained for months to defeat you. It’s child’s play compared to the fight the Klitschkos face today.
They’ve never backed down from a challenge previously and, sadly, they’re not backing down this time.
Even if the end is near for them, they’re heading into battle full of heart and determination.
It’s all they know.
Boxing-Klitschko brothers to take up arms and fight for Ukraine
(Reuters) - Former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko said he would take up arms alongside his brother and fellow Hall of Famer Wladimir Klitschko to fight in what is a "bloody war" following Russia's invasion of their country Ukraine.
Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin. An estimated 100,000 people have fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities. Dozens have been reported killed.
Vitali Klitschko, who has been the mayor of Ukraine's capital Kyiv since 2014, said he was ready to fight.
"I don't have another choice, I have to do that. I'll be fighting," the 50-year-old, known as "Dr Ironfist" during his fighting days, told broadcaster ITV's Good Morning Britain.
Vitali Klitschko said Kyiv was under threat and the main priority was to work with police and military forces to support critical infrastructure including the delivery of electricity, gas and water for its citizens.
He added civilians were ready to defend Kyiv as soldiers.
"I believe in Ukraine, I believe in my country and I believe in my people," Vitali Klitschko said.
Former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko enlisted in Ukraine's reserve army earlier this month, saying that the love for his country compelled him to defend it.
"The Ukrainian people are strong. And it will remain true to itself in this terrible ordeal. A people longing for sovereignty and peace. A people who consider the Russian people their brothers," he wrote in a post on LinkedIn on Thursday.
"It knows that they basically do not want this war. The Ukrainian people have chosen democracy.
"But: Democracy is a fragile regime. Democracy cannot defend itself; it needs the will of the citizens, the commitment of everyone. Basically, there is no democracy without democrats."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Viktor Postol still plans to fight as Russian invasion shakes the lives
of Ukrainian boxers
Russia invaded Ukraine and began a war on Thursday, the biggest nightmare for boxer Viktor Postol. The super lightweight contender is slated to fight Gary Antuanne Russell Saturday (10 p.m. ET, Showtime) at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Postol is from Ukraine and left his wife, Olga, and twin sons Timothey and Lukyam, at their home in Brovary, near Kyiv.
He had told Yahoo Sports earlier in the week that he’d been trying to avoid the news so he could focus on his fight, while also hoping that a diplomatic solution was found.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to attack Ukraine and reports quickly emerged that the Russians had taken the airport in Kyiv, as well as the former nuclear power plant in Chernobyl.
Postol said he spoke to his wife on Thursday.
“Everything is good for them at this time,” Postol told Yahoo Sports Thursday after learning of the onset of the hostilities. “Obviously, it is not good and, mentally, it’s difficult [to prepare for the fight]."
At this stage, there isn’t much Postol can do so he plans to go forward with the fight. Going home is a different story. He said he wasn’t sure, but said he thought he’d fly to Poland and then either drive or walk across the border into Ukraine.
He said he didn’t feel in jeopardy from Russian military because of his status as a prominent athlete and a former world champion boxer.
“I honestly don’t think so,” he said. “I’m just a regular Ukrainian person. I don’t live in a fancy villa and have crazy expensive stuff, so I don’t think they’ll look at me any differently than anyone else.”
Klitschko: 'Destruction and death come upon us'
One former boxer who clearly is in jeopardy is ex-heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, who is the mayor of Kyiv. In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Klitschko said he was going to join the armed conflict himself.
Asked if he’d take up arms and fight in the streets to defend his country, Klitschko said, “I don’t have another choice. I have to do that.”
His younger brother, Wladimir, has said he, too, will join the fight. He made a post on various social media outlets in which he criticized Putin and said he knows the Russian people don’t want war.
“Putin makes it clear that he wants to destroy the Ukrainian state and the sovereignty of its people,” Wladimir Klitschko wrote. “Words are followed by missiles and tanks. Destruction and death come upon us. That's it, blood will mix with tears. The Ukrainian people are strong. And it will remain true to itself in this terrible ordeal. A people longing for sovereignty and peace. A people who consider the Russian people their brothers. It knows that they basically do not want this war.
“You can do something by mobilizing and organizing huge demonstrations. Make your voice heard. Make the voice of democracy heard. Say it loud and clear that international law and democracy are under attack, that war is the greatest evil and that life is sacred.”
IBF-WBA-WBO heavyweight champion Alexander Usyk left Glasgow, Scotland, where he was prepared to watch the undisputed super lightweight title fight on Saturday between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall, and flew to Ukraine.
He released a video on social media of himself speaking in Russian with the caption on the post in all caps, “NO WAR.”
Former world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Ukraine, posted a heartfelt message on his Instagram account.
He entitled his post, “Prayer for the peace of the whole world and the enlightenment of the peoples of the Earth.”
He wrote, “Lord, grant Your peace to Your people. Lord, grant to Your servants Your Holy Spirit, so that He warms their hearts with Your love and guides them into all truth and goodness.”
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