A dramatic account by W³adimir Kliczka from Kiev. The boxing champion appeals to the Poles

After several years of frozen war, the Russians attacked Ukraine openly again. For over two weeks now, Vladimir Putin’s army has been destroying more cities and murdering civilians. Ukrainians are fleeing the country en masse. Well over 1.5 million refugees have already arrived in Poland. However, there are those who remained and bravely defend the country. Boxing champions in particular are impressive. . The latter two are defending Kiev, from which most of the inhabitants have fled. The capital of Ukraine has become a fortress.

– Constant bombing, sounds of bomb explosions, gunshots … Everything felt surreal. Now that shock is over. Some of the population left, some stayed. Of those who have taken their wives and children to safety, some are now returning. Those who lived abroad also come. The fates and stories of individual people are completely different. Unfortunately, some have died, others are in hospitals. In my example, I can see that, unfortunately, I am used to falling asleep to the sounds of explosions. And sleep is very important because in the first days of the war it was not there at all. The situation has entered a phase in which Ukrainians have united, they feel mutual support. I am proud of them as never before. I am proud to be a Ukrainian! It is a great, united, friendly and peaceful nation. We have never been aggressors, but now we have to aggressively defend our own home. It is about our home, about our children, about our lives, about our choice of democratic values, which took place in 2014. It was our choice. And it is precisely for the freedom of this choice that we fight as much as we can – says the younger of the Kliczko brothers in “Przegląd Sportowy”.

Many people – who do not follow boxing on a daily basis – are impressed by the mature, charismatic and simply great speeches of the Kliczko brothers. But boxing fans know them perfectly well. In the sports environment, they distinguished themselves not only by their skills in the ring, but also by education. They both have a doctorate – Vitaliy in sports science at the University of Kiev, and in sports methodology at the university in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Kliczko: I want to thank Poland

(64 wins – 53 by knockout – 5 defeats) and WItalij are already in sports retirement, but they dominated the heavyweight division earlier. Vladimir was the champion of the IBF, WBO, IBO federations and the WBA super champion. Vitaly ruled in the WBO and WBC federations. But in the face of war, their titles are irrelevant.

– Everything that happened before the war is in the past. When it started, the seconds and minutes started counting again. Everything is different now, and those events are as if they were in their old lives. So that duel doesn’t have any special significance either [wygrana nad Rosjaninem Aleksandrem Powietkinem]. As I said at the beginning, I realize that my hardest fight is the one that has been going on for thirteen days. And these are the days of the war – said Vladimir and thanked the Poles for their support.

– We have one of the strongest armies in the world against each other. We fight. The forces are definitely not equal. We fight because we believe in Ukraine, we believe in our victory, in our future generation, in our children. We believe that they will live in a free, democratic country. With this faith and willpower, we can overcome all obstacles. (…) I want to thank Poland and the Polish government for supporting Ukraine from the first day of the war. Thank you very much [powiedziane po polsku]. This must continue. Not only we Ukrainians, but we – Poles and Ukrainians, must stop Russian aggression and this senseless war that destroys everything in its path – he concluded. You will read the entire interview.