Russian aggression: Klitschko says Kyiv bracing for possible contingencies

That’s according to Kyiv Mayor, former world boxing champion Vitaliy Klitschko, who spoke with Germany’s Bild, Ukrinform reports.

Klitschko said that all over Ukraine, people are preparing to address a scenario where Russian President Vladimir Putin issues his troops an order to attack Ukraine, as it was in 2014.

"In my hometown of Kyiv, we are bracing for a possible contingency. As mayor, I am setting up a civil defense. We have intensified work on recruiting and training reservists," Klitschko said.

"As a soldier, I once swore to defend the country, and now I’m ready to fight for my Motherland," the politician said.

He called on Germany to realize all seriousness of the situation. Putin has amassed more than 100,000 Russian soldiers near Ukraine's borders, which is an unprecedented threat. There are different scenarios of how the Russian army can attack Ukraine, so Ukraine must be ready for all of them, Klitschko stressed.

The mayor of Kyiv has complained that he constantly hears some politicians claim that Putin will not go in and that these are just threats and games. This, he noted, is reminiscent of the discussions that were observed before the 2014 invasion. At the time, almost all international observers also considered such developments impossible, he recalls.

Ukraine urgently needs international support and military assistance, Klitschko stressed. He does not believe that Germany could have blocked NATO's decision to supply defense weapons to Ukraine.

"The new federal government must understand that aid has never been so important to our country. Ukraine is in the center of Europe! On the border with several EU countries," the mayor urged.

He stressed that Ukraine doesn’t want war, but seeks peace, also noting that the Ukrainian nation does not want and will not allow Russia to take the country back to the Soviet empire.

"We are a European country that needs European support more than ever!" the Kyiv mayor concluded.

As reported earlier, the EU Council of Foreign Ministers met in Brussels, where the main topic on the agenda was the response to the buildup of Russian forces near the borders of Ukraine.

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