Klitschko brothers take defiant stand as Russia assaults Kyiv

Mayor of Kyiv and his younger brother vow to defend hometown

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, right, and his brother, Wladimir, stand at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the capital. AFP

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Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and his younger brother, Wladimir — both former heavyweight boxing world champions — have taken a defiant stand during the Russian attack on their homeland.

The Ukrainian brothers have the means and the ability to escape, but have remained in their hometown as Russian forces continue to advance towards the capital.

For the siblings who spent much of their lives in a boxing ring squaring off against some of the toughest men on the planet, leaving was never an option.

Firefighters put out a major blaze caused by Russian shelling at a food warehouse in Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region. AFP

Irina Zubchenko walks her dog Max amid the destruction caused by the shelling of a shopping center in Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian refugee Masha, 6, plays at the border crossing in Budomierz, Poland. Reuters

A charred Russian armoured personnel carrier on the front line in the Kyiv region. Reuters

A volunteer takes position at a checkpoint in a district of Kyiv as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian capital. AFP

Residents of Kyiv retrieve belongings from their homes in a five-storey residential building that partially collapsed after shelling by Russian artillery. AFP

Police officers in Moscow detain a woman as she protests against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. AFP

A resident of the village of Krasylivka after Russian bombardment, part of Moscow's effort to move on Kyiv. AFP

Tetiana Chornovol, a former Ukrainian MP, prepares to take position with an anti-tank missile on the front line in the Kyiv region. Reuters

A rescue worker at a shopping mall in Kyiv after a Russian air strike. Reuters

Ukrainian firefighters rescue a person buried beneath rubble after an explosion at a shopping centre in Kyiv. Reuters

Ukrainian police officers stand near a warehouse that was hit by the debris of a downed rocket in Kyiv. AFP

Graves are dug in a street in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

Pro-Russia militia fighters travel by tank to the outskirts of Mariupol. Reuters

Milana, 6, who is recovering from leg wounds sustained when a Russian rocket hit her house on February 28, killing her mother, watches volunteers dressed as clowns at a children's hospital in Kyiv. Getty

Tetyana and other residents wait in Kyiv, after being relocated from Irpin town. EPA

Rescuers carry a Ukrainian soldier saved after 30 hours trapped in the wreckage of a military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv. AFP

A Ukrainian refugee arrives with her dog at the reception centre about three kilometres from the Moldova-Ukraine border. EPA

Volunteers in Kyiv prepare packages with food and other goods for Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in cities across the country. EPA

Residents walk between damaged residential buildings in Mariupol. Reuters

Participants illuminate the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna with the lights of their smartphones, during the charity concert We Stand with Ukraine. AFP

Yana Hladiychuk of Ukraine with a "Stop War" message on her face after the women's pole vault, on the second day of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade. Getty

An Ukrainian girl in tears after crossing the border in Siret, northern Romania. AFP

A satellite image shows the aftermath of the Russian air strike on the Mariupol Drama Theatre. EPA/Maxar Technologies

A woman takes cover in a military trench as a Russian jet fighter flies overhead, near the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv. AFP

A man walks amid debris in front of a Kyiv residential apartment complex that was heavily damaged by a Russian attack on March 18. Getty

Residents carry water from a food warehouse, which is under the control of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic, on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP

Rescuers work at the site of the National Academy of State Administration building damaged by shelling in Kharkiv. AP

A satellite image shows artillery strikes and burning fields in Chernihiv. AP / Maxar Technologies

A resident assesses her damaged flat in Mariupol. Reuters

Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko keeps people away from a five-storey residential building that partially collapsed after shelling on March 18. AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses crowds at a concert in Moscow to mark the eighth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. AP

Ukrainian policemen secure a residential area in Kyiv. Sergei Supinsky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. AP

A cloud of smoke rises after an explosion in Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 18. AP

Zinaida Pivtsova, 75, who fled the war in Ukraine, takes shelter in a sports stadium in Przemysl, south-east Poland. AP

A police officer at abandoned residential buildings in Kyiv. AP

Inside a shell-damaged school in Kyiv. AP

A woman cries before starting to clean the site where a bomb damaged residential buildings in Kyiv. AP Photo / Rodrigo Abd

A woman from Ukraine sits in a car with her children as a volunteer takes them to a hostel in Budapest, Hungary. AP

An abandoned flat in Kyiv. AP

A man removes a curtain inside a school in Kyiv. AP

A worker sets up a billboard with the colours of the Ukrainian flag in Novoiavorisk, near Lviv. AP

Olga plays with her daughter Vedeneya in an empty park in Kyiv. AP

“It's our homeland, it's our home town,” Vitali Klitschko told The Washington Post in a 30-minute interview alongside his brother. “We don't want to leave, we want to live in our home where our parents, grandparents, relatives are.”

The brothers spoke hours after a Russian air strike destroyed a large shopping mall in Kyiv.

Russian bombs have hit more than 70 buildings, including preschools, in Kyiv, said the 50-year-old Mr Klitschko.

About 1,000 civilians have been killed since the conflict began and thousands more have been injured, the latest figures from the UN show, though the real numbers are likely to be considerably higher.

Russian forces surround Kyiv on three sides and have stepped up efforts to take the capital in recent days.

But the brothers are adamant that despite the threat from the superior fighting force, Kyiv will never fall.

“As mayor of the capital of Ukraine, I can promise everyone the Russian army, the Russian soldiers will never, ever come to our home town,” the elder Klitchsko said.

Wladimir, 45, who joined Kyiv's Territorial Defence Force immediately after Russia began its military invasion on February 24, said the civilian fighting force is strong and better prepared after nearly a month of war.

“The spirit is as strong as it could be because we have one goal, one target: we want to live in a peaceful country,” the younger brother said.

He accused Russia of committing war crimes against Ukrainian civilians and called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “mad man”.

He said Russia’s decision to invade will prove to be calamitous and precipitate a major change in the country.

“It's like a cancer that got into the body of Russia and it is going to eat it from inside out,” he said.

Former boxing world champion and mayor of Ukraine's capital, Vitali Klitschko, speaks outside the parliament building in Kiev last year. Getty images

Klitschko has said his countrymen and women will fight for their future, if Russia invades. . EPA

A huge screen shows an election campaign advertisement for Klitschko before local elections last year. Getty Images

Then opposition leader Klitschko arrives to address anti-government demonstrators at Independence Square in Kiev, 2014. Getty Images

Klitschko celebrates after winning his WBC Heavyweight World Championship fight against Dereck Chisora of Great Britain in Munich, Germany, in 2012. Getty Images

Wladimir Klitschko, left, and his brother Vitali pose with their championship belts in 2012. Getty Images

Shannon Briggs of the USA exchanges punches with Klitschko during the WBC Heavyweight World Championship fight in Hamburg, Germany, in 2010. Getty Images

Klitschko during a training session in Austria, in 2010. Getty Images

The brothers pleaded with the West for more weapons and said that with the right firepower, Ukraine could close the sky itself.

“We need to protect the sky above us, so we need this high-tech equipment and that is what I would ask [for],” said the younger Klitchsko.

The US and Nato have resisted calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to enact a no-fly zone over Ukraine for fears of broadening the conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

Last week, the US agreed to send an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine including anti-aircraft Stinger missiles.