'Germany is core of Europe': Wladimir Klitschko calls on Berlin to offer enhanced support

Appeal for help from former boxing world champion comes amid claims Berlin is sending weapons not suited to Ukrainian needs

Former heavyweight boxing world champion Wladimir Klitschko told German ministers that Ukrainian resistance had limits unless given support. AFP

Ukrainian former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko has urged Germany to ramp up its support for Kyiv to help remove Russian invaders.

He said German assistance would be vital to ending the war, as the continent’s largest economy is the “core of Europe”.

Wladimir, 46, whose brother Vitali Klitschko — another former world heavyweight boxing champion — is Kyiv’s mayor, travelled to Berlin on Thursday to put pressure on politicians to pledge further supplies for Ukraine’s military.

His visit came after a report in Germany newspaper Die Welt suggested German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht had been confused about what weapons Kyiv needed and had failed to send crucial armaments.

Wladimir Klitschko attends a meeting with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, back, second left, in Berlin. AP

Wladimir Klitschko told Germany newspaper Bild the support of Germans was essential to ensuring the war in Ukraine ends.

He said Ukrainians are “stronger in will than arms” and “can’t be stopped unless we all have to be killed”.

“But everything has a limit,” he said. “I want our allies to end this war.”

Addressing politicians in Germany, he said their decisions would help shape “how Ukraine will continue”.

“Germany is the core of Europe. I want Germany to stand for peace — which we are fighting for.”

Germany came in for heavy criticism at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine over what was perceived as lukewarm support for Kyiv.

Berlin initially resisted pressure to pull back from approving the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia and provide weapons to Kyiv.

While Germany did subsequently increase assistance, Ukraine has shown signs it still remains unhappy about its level of support.

During his visit to Berlin, Mr Klitschko held talks with Economic Affairs Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

On Friday, he met with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner for further discussions.

Meanwhile, Ms Lambrecht was accused of being out of touch about the needs of fighters on the ground when signing off on arms shipments.

“It is to be feared that weapons that we particularly need in this phase of the war are not on the list,” German newspaper Welt quoted a Ukrainian government official as saying.

During a visit to New York on Thursday Ms Lambrecht said Germany had delivered more than €80 million ($89m) worth of lethal aid to Ukraine so far.

She told reporters “more are to follow” as she responded to criticism that Berlin was not delivering enough military aid to Kyiv.

Due to the altering nature of Russian attacks, Ukraine’s needs have changed since the invasion began on February 24.

A Ukrainian soldier fires his rifle from a trench at the front east of Kharkiv in the north of Ukraine, which continues to be shelled by Russian forces. AFP

A gas station on fire in Kharkiv after Russian ttack on the northern city. AFP

A medieval suit of armour 'stands guard' at a a Ukrainian checkpoint, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

Ukrainian refugees wait in line to cross the border into Poland at Shehyni. Reuters

Destroyed Russian armoured vehicles on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

A resident passes apartment buildings destroyed by Russian attacks in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, standing, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the House of Representatives via video link at Parliament House in Canberra. Mr Zelenskyy appealed directly to Australian legislators for more help in the war against Russia, including armoured vehicles and tougher sanctions. AP

Fire lights up the sky east of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP

A destroyed Russian tank in the village of Lukianivka near Kyiv. AFP

Passengers arriving from Moscow at Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyrzstan. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of former Soviet countries in Central Asia are facing difficult choices: shrinking work opportunities in Russia and wages in the weakened rouble versus a return to the homeland where they have family homes, but even fewer job prospects. AFP

Fire and smoke light up the sky east of Kharkiv as Ukrainian forces push back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier shoots at the Russian positions not far from the capital Kyiv. EPA

A car marked with the English letter 'Z' is found destroyed at the central Ukrainian train station that was used as a Russian base in Trostyanets. Ukrainian forces said they had retaken the north-eastern town from the Russians. Getty Images

Rescue workers at the site of the regional administration building hit by Russian cruise missiles, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A dog looks at cars passing by on the road near a house painted with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

A soldier poses for the picture in Kyiv, Ukraine, while standing guard amid the destruction caused after shelling of a shopping center. AP Photo

A Ukrainian serviceman stands near a destroyed Russian tank in the north-eastern city of Trostianets. AFP

A worker pushes a cart past graves of Ukrainian soldiers who were killed in battle during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv. Reuters

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damaged apartment buildings and homes in Mariupol. AP

A resident takes photos of a destroyed Russian tank next to the railway station where the Russian forces were stationed, in Trostyanets, a town recaptured by the Ukrainian army. EPA

A rescuer clears the rubble of a warehouse containing more than 50,000 tons of deep-frozen food in the town of Brovary, north of Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, after it was destroyed by Russian shelling. AFP

A Ukrainian army vehicle carries a Russian tank in Trostyanets. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin during the funeral ceremony of a comrade in Odesa. EPA

A man walks with his dog near an apartment building damaged by shelling from fighting on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo

Members of the Danish Parliament attend the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky's speech to the Danish Parliament via a video link, at the Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. EPA

A satellite image shows crowds outside a Metro grocery store in Mariupol. Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opens Ukrainian-Russian talks in Istanbul. President Erdogan told the delegations that "both parties have legitimate concerns." AFP

Members of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps fire a howitzer at a position in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters

Ukrainian refugees are helped by volunteers upon their arrival at Amsterdam Central station by train from Berlin. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers ride an armoured people carrier through the town of Trostsyanets, about 400 kilometres east of Kyiv. AP Photo

Firefighters work amid the debris of residential houses that were destroyed by Russian shelling in a settlement outside Kharkiv. Reuters

President Joe Biden said that he is not advocating for regime change in Moscow after saying Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power." AP Photo

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a warehouse after it was hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. More than half of Kharkiv's 1.4 million people have fled the city since Russia's invasion on February 24. Getty Images

Local residents pass by a destroyed Russian tank in the town of Trostyanets, east of capital Kyiv, Ukraine. The monument to the Second World War is seen in background. AP Photo

A pro-Russian troop service member walks near a destroyed apartment building in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

Mykhaylo, 8, who was taken away from his widowed mother along with his 9-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister, plays with a ball in the garden of a state shelter in Lviv. Reuters

Halyna Falko, 52, talks to reporters while looking at the destruction caused after a Russian attack inside her house near Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

Curtains flutter in the wind at a building that was damaged by shelling in a neighbourhood that has been largely abandoned and left without water, gas and heating, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters

People, mainly women and children, arrive at Przemysl on a train from Odesa in war-torn Ukraine in Przemysl, Poland. The Polish government has said it may spend €24 billion this year hosting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, and is seeking more support from the European Union. Getty Images

A woman walks a dog past the so-called "people's installation to a Russian soldier" nicknamed the "polite people" created by residents in the backyard of their apartment building in the town of Podolsk, outside Moscow. AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces began their mission using tanks and other armoured vehicles. In the face of apparently heavy losses, artillery shells and rockets are now more prominent.

Germany had promised anti-tank weapons to Ukraine but these are now less relevant, and Kyiv has drawn up a new list of requested weapons.

Reconnaissance and combat drones top the list, followed by artillery reconnaissance radars and fighter jets.

Earlier this month the US dismissed plans by its fellow Nato member Poland to send fighter jets to Ukraine.