WBO heavyweight champion

Klitschko began his professional boxing career in 1996, winning his first twenty-four fights by either early knockout or technical knockout. He and Wladimir signed with the German athlete-promotion company Universum. With both brothers holding PhDs and being multilingual, their refined and articulate personalities made for mainstream marketability when they moved to Germany and Universum. In time, they became national celebrities in their adopted home country. In his 25th pro fight on 26 June 1999, Klitschko won the WBO heavyweight title from Herbie Hide of the United Kingdom by a second-round knockout. He successfully defended the title twice. He defeated Ed Mahone by knockout in the third round and beat Obed Sullivan, who retired after the ninth round.

Title loss to Byrd

By April 2000 Klitschko was unbeaten and a rising star in the heavyweight division, having won all 27 of his contests by knockout. On 1 April, Klitschko had a third title defense against the American Chris Byrd, who was a late replacement.^[37] Byrd made himself a difficult target and tried to thwart Klitschko's offense by being elusive. Klitschko won most of the rounds and was heading towards a comprehensive points victory when he suffered a serious shoulder injury. After the ninth round, Klitschko notified his corner that he had a shoulder pain and threw in the towel, thus handing Klitschko his first defeat and awarding Byrd the win by RTD. At the time of the stoppage, Klitschko had won 8 of 9 rounds on one judge's scorecard, and 7 of 9 on the two others. Klitschko, who was later diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, received much criticism for quitting the fight. Klitschko rebounded from his loss to Byrd by reeling off five victories in a row, earning himself a shot at WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

Klitschko vs. Lewis

The fight between Lewis and Klitschko was to take place in December 2003, and Klitschko signed for a tune-up fight on 21 June 2003 as part of the undercard of Lewis's fight with Kirk Johnson for the IBO title, as the WBC would not sanction the fight for their title. Johnson, however, pulled out of the fight due to injury and Klitschko, due to his being in training for a fight on the same day as Lewis, took the fight on short notice. Immediately after he accepted, the WBC elected to sanction the fight as a title match and Lewis's The Ring title was also up for grabs in addition to his lineal title.

Klitschko, a 4–1 underdog, dominated the early going with many harder punches. He stunned Lewis in the second round with two hard rights, leaving a cut under Lewis's left eye.^[38] In the third, Lewis landed a big right hand that opened a deep cut above Klitschko's left eye.^[38] Before the seventh round, the ringside doctor inspected the wound and deemed it severe enough to threaten eye damage if struck again, stopping the fight despite Klitschko's pleas to continue. Klitschko was ahead on all three judges' scorecards 58–56 (4 rounds to 2) at the time of the stoppage, but because the wound was a result of punches from Lewis, Lewis won by technical knockout.^[38]

Negotiations for a 6 December rematch began.^[39] After negotiations collapsed, Klitschko defeated Kirk Johnson in a WBC eliminator bout on 6 December date,^[40] setting up a mandatory rematch with Lewis. In January 2004, the WBC announced that it would strip Lewis of the belt if he let pass a 15 March deadline to sign for a rematch with Klitschko.^[41] Shortly thereafter, Lewis announced his retirement and vacated the title. For years after this fight, Klitschko would occasionally call out Lewis for a rematch, despite the latter having retired in early 2004.^[42]

Around this time the Klitschko brothers moved from Hamburg, Germany, to Los Angeles. In January 2004 they notified Universum that they would not re-sign when their contracts expired in April. Universum sued the brothers, arguing that their recent injuries had triggered a clause binding them beyond April. The suit was ultimately resolved in favor of the Klitschkos in November 2009.^[43]

WBC and The Ring heavyweight champion

Klitschko faced South African Corrie Sanders on 24 April 2004 for the WBC heavyweight championship and The Ring belts that had been vacated by Lewis. Sanders had stopped younger brother Wladimir in the second round (TKO) on 8 March 2003. Klitschko took a heavy shot in round one by Sanders and was almost knocked down right at the end of the round, but by using upper-body movement and accurate punching he broke down Sanders over the following rounds, forcing referee Jon Schorle to stop the bout in the eighth. Klitschko landed 60% of his power punches.

Klitschko vs. Williams

Klitschko's first WBC title defense was against British boxer Danny Williams. Williams had become suddenly marketable from a KO over Mike Tyson in round 4. Klitschko scored a technical knockout against Williams in 8 rounds on 11 December 2004, while wearing an orange cloth to show support for the Ukrainian presidential opposition movement. Klitschko knocked Williams down in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th rounds before the fight was stopped. Immediately afterward, Klitschko dedicated his victory to democracy in his native Ukraine and also to the Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, whom he supported on 26 December 2004, election revote.^[44]

Vitali (right) and his brother Wladimir supporting the Orange Revolution by wearing its colors

2005–2007 retirement

On 9 November 2005, Klitschko announced his retirement from professional boxing and vacated his title. He had been training to fight Hasim Rahman; however, nine days before the fight, he injured his leg while sparring. He snapped his anterior cruciate ligament, which with surgery would take up to a year to heal and possibly prove career ending. To avoid keeping the title out of use, he retired. The WBC was grateful for his consideration. On other occasions he cited regrets about his suddenly mounting injuries, a desire to leave the sport while still on top and political aspirations in his home country of Ukraine.^[45] Following his retirement, the WBC conferred "champion emeritus" status on Klitschko, and assured him he would become the mandatory challenger if and when he decided to return.^[46]

Second WBC heavyweight championship

On 3 August 2008 the WBC awarded Klitschko a chance to regain his WBC heavyweight title. After Vitali's retirement, his younger brother had established dominance in the division, winning two of the four world titles available. The reigning WBC Champion was Samuel Peter (who had lost a decision to Wladimir in 2005). At the time, there was interest in a potential Peter vs. Wladimir unification match. Instead, Vitali took advantage of his champion emeritus status and secured a title challenge against Peter. The fight was arranged on 11 October 2008 at O2 World, Berlin. It would be one of the most anticipated heavyweight fights in the past few years. Both men had a rightful claim to being the champion and the stakes for the future of the heavyweight division were high. Despite some questioning Klitschko's decision to return after almost four years, he managed to regain his title in dominating fashion. Klitschko had Peter intimidated from the first round and stunned him with accurate hard punches. Klitschko kept the hard-punching Nigerian off with an effective left jab and took control in the center of the ring. Over eight rounds, Klitschko completely dismantled and outfought the younger champion. After the eighth round, Peter slumped on his stool, shook his head and asked that the bout be stopped. With the Samuel Peter victory, Klitschko technically became one of the few men to ever hold a version of the world heavyweight title three times—WBO (1999–2000), WBC (2004–2005) and WBC (2008–2013).

Klitschko vs. Gómez, Arreola, Johnson

On 21 March 2009, Klitschko defeated Juan Carlos Gómez by TKO in the ninth round. Gómez tried to use his movement to thwart Klitschko but seemed unable to cope with the power and physical strength of his opponent. As the rounds progressed, Klitschko began imposing himself on Gómez more and more. Gómez soon became wary of Klitschko's power and also began to tire physically. By the sixth round, Klitschko was in total control. The end came when the referee stopped the fight in the ninth round as Gómez appeared unable to withstand any more hits.

On 26 September, Klitschko earned a one-sided TKO victory over Chris Arreola at the Staples Center in Los Angeles when Arreola's trainer, Henry Ramirez, asked the referee to stop the fight.^[47] Arreola was considered at the time one of the division's hardest punchers; however, Klitschko kept Arreola at bay with his left jab and hit him almost at will with his right. Arreola had been influenced by Samuel Peter's defeat to Klitschko in 2008, in which Peter had tried to box from the outside. He therefore employed a game-plan which involved applying constant pressure to Klitschko in order to force him into a high tempo fight. Despite his best efforts, the bout became one sided very quickly. Klitschko consistently proved himself faster, sharper and much fitter than Arreola.

On 12 December, Klitschko defeated Kevin Johnson by unanimous decision, winning almost every round. Johnson, a skillful fighter, tried to negate Klitschko's strength with angles and head movement. Though he proved hard to hit, he failed to launch any sustained attack of his own. After the Johnson bout, Klitschko's camp began negotiations for a potential fight with former WBA champion Nikolai Valuev, but the match failed to materialize due to economic disagreements.^{[48][49][50][51][52]}

Klitschko vs. Sosnowski, Briggs, Solís

On 29 May 2010, Klitschko defeated Polish heavyweight contender Albert Sosnowski by KO at 2:30 in round 10 of 12. Sosnowski was knocked down by a right hand in the 10th round, prompting referee Jay Nady to immediately wave off the fight. The fight took place at Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Klitschko vs Sosnowski, 29 May 2010

Klitschko weighed in at 112 kg (247 lb), while Sosnowski weighed in at 110 kg (240 lb). This voluntary defense was Klitschko's fourth defense of the WBC heavyweight title. Sosnowski was the No. 11 ranked heavyweight according to the WBC prior to this bout.^[53]

On 17 August 2010, it was announced that Klitschko would defend his WBC title against Shannon Briggs on 16 October of that year. Klitschko completely dismantled his challenger with superior hand speed. Briggs struggled to land any meaningful punches, as Klitschko won every round decisively. After a few rounds, Briggs was receiving a vicious and sustained beating which caused him serious facial injuries. Considering the beating he was receiving, there was some suggestion that the referee should have stopped the bout during the last few rounds. Klitschko had retained his belt with official scores of 120–107, 120–107, and 120–105.^[54][55]

During the post-fight interview, the American boxer Briggs said: "I've fought George Foreman, I've fought Lennox Lewis, and Vitali's the best." While Klitschko did not knock down Briggs, the latter collapsed after the fight and was hospitalized with facial fractures and a torn biceps.

Klitschko's next fight was against mandatory challenger Odlanier Solís. The bout was tentatively scheduled for March 2011.^[56] On 11 January, it was officially confirmed that the fight between Klitschko and Solís was going to take place in Cologne, Germany on 19 March 2011. The fight lasted less than one whole round, as a right hand to Solís's temple wobbled Solís, who then twisted his knee. Klitschko won by KO.^[57][58] Klitschko reportedly earned $15 million for the bout.^[59]

Klitschko vs. Adamek, Chisora, Charr

Now aged 40, Klitschko retained his WBC heavyweight title against Tomasz Adamek on 10 September 2011 in Poland, winning by TKO in the 10th round, in the first ever PPV fight in Polish TV history.^[60][61] The referee stopped the bout after Adamek received punishing blows and was ruled out, as he was no longer able to defend himself.

After turning 41 on 19 July 2012, Klitschko became one of the oldest heavyweight champions in history. Despite having a four-year hiatus from the sport, Klitschko had proven to be a remarkably effective and dominant heavyweight champion once again. Alongside his brother Wladimir, he also fights on for their shared ambition of holding all four heavyweight titles together, an ambition that was realised on 2 July 2011 when brother Wladimir defeated David Haye to win the WBA heavyweight title.

In January 2012, he was awarded WBC Fighter of the Year for 2011. Klitschko was in negotiations for a possible bout with former WBA heavyweight title holder David Haye on 3 March 2012.^[62][63]

Wladimir and Vitali with every title in the heavyweight division, 2012. Left to right: The Ring, IBF, IBO, WBO, WBC, and WBA.

After Wladimir Klitschko had to cancel his fight with Jean-Marc Mormeck, it was thought that Vitali was likely to fight on 25 February 2012.^[64] Sources in Germany reported that he was likely to fight British contender Derek Chisora on 18 February 2012 in Olympiahalle, Munich, Bavaria.^[65][66]

It was confirmed on 12 December 2011 that Derek Chisora would be Klitschko's next opponent.^[67][68] Klitschko retained his WBC title unanimously in a dominant display in Munich. The fight was fought against a backdrop of antagonism displayed by Chisora at the weigh in. Chisora slapped Klitschko across the face causing a red mark to be left.^[69] The next day Chisora spat water over the face of Vitali's brother Wladimir.^[70]

Vitali won the majority of the rounds boxing a disciplined fight with changing angles and superior footwork. Chisora, constantly coming forward delivering punishing body shots, failed to wear down the older man. The scores were: 118–110, 118–110, and 119–111.^[71] The next day Klitschko visited a hospital to check his shoulder, claiming he injured it in the fight. A doctor confirmed a ligament tear was suffered in his left shoulder. Klitschko said he "suddenly lost strength in the left hand" and was forced to only use his right. The injury was believed to have happened in the second or third round. Klitschko's trainer, Fritz Sdunek, believes this is the same kind of injury Klitschko suffered in his fight with Byrd.^[72]

At the post-fight press conference, a brawl ensued between Haye and Chisora. After the altercation, Chisora challenged Haye to a fight in the ring and said, "I am going to shoot David Haye." Chisora was later arrested at a German airport along with his coach, Don Charles. His comments and actions were later condemned by Frank Warren, his promoter, and Wladimir Klitschko.^{[73][74][75][76]}

On 2 July 2012, it was announced that Vitali would defend his WBC heavyweight title on 8 September at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia.^[77] His opponent for the fight was undefeated future WBA heavyweight champion Manuel Charr 21–0 (11 KO).^[78] Klitschko won the fight via technical knockout when Charr had to be stopped due to a cut received from Klitschko's punches.^[79]

Klitschko was expected to face Bermane Stiverne in a mandatory title defense but was forced to pull out due to injury.^[80]

Retirement from boxing

On 15 December 2013, Klitschko stepped back from boxing. He was announced champion emeritus, which means that if he wants to return to boxing, he can fight the WBC heavyweight champion without having any fights beforehand.^[8] But (right after his retirement from boxing), Klitschko stated "That is something I currently cannot imagine".^[8] The WBC title was vacated and later contested by Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne.^[81] Commenting on his decision, he stated "My focus is on politics in Ukraine and I feel the people there need me".^[8] He also added, "I thank the WBC and its president José Sulaimán for the support in our battle for democracy and freedom in Ukraine". Since his retirement, he has maintained a limited level of training and has been in his brother's corner for most fights, most famously when he had an altercation with Anthony Joshua after Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko.^[8]

Early years in politics

During the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election and the following Orange Revolution, the Klitschko brothers openly supported the candidacy of Viktor Yushchenko.^[13] In 2005, Vitali Klitschko was appointed an adviser to President Yushchenko.^[13] In October 2006, he was promoted to full-time adviser.^[13]

Klitschko began campaigning for Mayor of Kyiv shortly after his retirement in 2005. He lost the 2006 mayoral election to Leonid Chernovetskyi but placed second with 26% of the vote, ahead of the incumbent Oleksandr Omelchenko^[82] Klitschko campaigned on an anti-corruption platform^[82] and lead the bloc "Civic party" PORA-ROP (the parties PORA and Reforms and Order Party) in the simultaneously held local elections for the Kyiv City Council.^[83] Analysts stated his relatively late entry into the campaign might have cost him votes. Still, Klitschko was elected as a people's deputy to the Kyiv City Council since "Civic party" PORA-ROP won 14 seats in the 2006 election.^[83][84]

Klitschko with Wilfried Martens, former president of the European Peoples Party.

In the May 2008 Kyiv local election, he ran again and won 18% of the vote. Klitschko simultaneously led the Vitali Klitschko Bloc that won 10.61% of the votes and 15 seats and again, he was elected into the Kyiv City Council.^[85] His campaign hired Rudy Giuliani as a consultant for the campaign.^[82] In 2008, he was also appointed to the Ukrainian delegation of the Congress of the Council of Europe.

Klitschko became the leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) in April 2010.^[86] During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections, the party won representatives in (Ukrainian) municipalities and Oblast Councils (regional parliaments).^[87][88][89]

Klitschko and UDAR became a partner of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in November 2011.^[90] UDAR is supported by the German government and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation^[91][92] and received support in particular from Angela Merkel and also politicians from the conservative European People's Party. According to information gained by the German magazine Der Spiegel, the target was to "set up Klitschko purposefully as a new strong man in Kyiv—in order to counter this way the Kremlin's growing influence". Support consisted in logistics, training and joint performances. Assistance was also promised by Christoph Heusgen, Ronald Pofalla and Guido Westerwelle.^[93]

Klitschko, Poroshenko, Tyahnybok and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns, 25 February 2014

In October 2011, Klitschko announced that he would run in the 2012 Kyiv mayoral election.^[94]

During the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Klitschko was elected (he was top candidate on UDAR's party list) into the Ukrainian parliament; UDAR won 13.97% of the popular vote and 34 seats under the nationwide proportional party-list system, finishing third behind the Party of Regions and Fatherland, and another 6 seats in constituencies, thus a total of 40 seats.^[10][11][12] Support for UDAR was the least diversified at the regional level compared with the results of the other leading parties.^[95] Klitschko was chosen as the leader of the party's faction in Parliament.^[96]

Klitschko announced on 24 October 2013 that he intended to take part in the next Ukrainian presidential election that was then set for 2015.^{[97][lower-alpha 2]} That same day, the parliament voted for a bill adopting two amendments to the Tax Code, according to which a person who has permanent residency in a foreign state is considered to be a person who does not live in Ukraine; the law also had a provision according to which only a person "permanently residing in Ukraine for ten years" can run for the president. 239 deputies voted for the bill, mostly from the Party of Regions and the Communist Party.^[99][100] Experts and lawyers then argued that it was unclear if Klitschko could take part in these elections as, according to media reports, he had a residence permit in Germany.^[97]

Opinion polls since early 2011 showed that the predicted percentage of votes that Klitschko would gain in the first round of the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election enlarged from 4.8% in December 2011 to 15.1% in February 2013, and an October 2013 Razumkov Centre poll predicted 19.3%.^{[101][102][lower-alpha 3]} According to all opinion polls but two conducted from January to November 2013 by the Razumkov Centre, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), SOCIS, Rating, International Republican Institute and the Democratic Initiatives, Viktor Yanukovych and Klitschko were most likely to go into the second round. For the second round, all opinion polls conducted by same agencies during the same period of time had Vitali winning the potential run-off against Yanukovych, predicting Vitali to earn from 58% to 64%.^{[lower-alpha 4]}

Klitschko was one of the dominant figures of the Euromaidan protests.^[8] During these protests, he retired from boxing.^[8]

Political views (until 2013)

Klitschko is in favor of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.^[118][119] He sees the European Union as Ukraine's "model for [Ukraine's] future political and economic development."^[120] He believes former President Viktor Yanukovych and his government were "deliberately destroying the integration (into Europe) prospects of Ukraine"^[121] and that Ukrainian politicians have no right to let them "rule after 2014".^[118] Klitschko is also in favour of NATO-Ukraine cooperation.^[122]

Klitschko, leader of the political party UDAR, seen in the crowd on Khreschatyk street in Kyiv, Ukraine on 27 November 2013.

Klitschko's main concern is social standards and the economy of Ukraine.^[123] He believes "the issue of language is not the top priority".^[123] Klitschko wants less corruption and more transparency in Ukrainian politics.^[120][124] He also advocates lower taxes to stimulate the economy.^[120][123] Klitschko did accuse in October 2011 President Yanukovych and the Azarov Government of "doing everything to manipulate the rules to stay in power longer";^[124] furthermore (in December 2011) he assert(ed) "every statement of the government" as "a continuation of lies and disinformation."^[121] He has also taken part in rallies for former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's release.^{[118][125][lower-alpha 5]}

In December 2011, Klitschko described the judicial system of Ukraine as "complete degradation" and accused it of violating human rights and humiliating its prisoners.^[134] According to him, Ukraine lacks independent and unbiased judges because the "Ukrainian judiciary is currently a closed system with lifelong judges and appointments made through administrative leverage".^[123] He wants to ensure the independence of judges by switching from a system of appointed judges to a system of elected judges.^[123]

In July 2012, Klitschko stated that UDAR will not cooperate with the Party of Regions in the Ukrainian Parliament.^[135] In early April 2013 Klitschko called for early presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine.^[136]

Mayor of Kyiv

Klitschko with Polish politicians Donald Tusk and Ewa Kopacz, 22 March 2014

On 28 February 2014, Klitschko confirmed that he would take part in the (early) 2014 Ukrainian presidential election.^{[137][lower-alpha 6]} On 29 March, he announced that he had changed his mind and would run for the post of Mayor of Kyiv in the 2014 Kyiv local election (including Mayoral elections) set for 25 May.^[139][140] In the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election Klitschko endorsed the candidacy of Petro Poroshenko.^[141] Klitschko won Kyiv's mayoral elections with almost 57% of the votes in the first round.^[22][142] He was sworn in as mayor on 5 June 2014.^[5] The same day the Ukrainian parliament had deprived Klitschko of his MP mandate (Ukrainian MPs are not entitled to combine parliamentary activities with any other public employment).^[7] Poroshenko was elected President of Ukraine on 25 May 2014.^[143]

In addition to mayoral elections, UDAR participated in the 2014 Kyiv local election. It won 30 seats in the party-list ballot (40.54% of votes) and 42 seats in constituencies, overall gaining 77 seats in the Kyiv City Council out of 120.^[144] This was the last time that half of the Kyiv City Council seats were elected in constituencies.

Opening of the Klitschko bridge over Saint Volodymyr Descent on 25 May 2019

Poroshenko appointed Klitschko as head of Kyiv City State Administration on 25 June 2014.^[145]

Klitschko headed the election list of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc in the late October 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, but he vowed not to resign as Mayor of Kyiv.^[23] On 21 November 2014 Klitschko gave up his seat in the new parliament.^[24] Petro Poroshenko Bloc won the election with 132 seats out of 423 available.^[146][25]

On 28 August 2015, UDAR merged into Petro Poroshenko Bloc "Solidarity".^[6] Klitschko became the new party leader.^[6] In the 2015 Kyiv mayoral election, Klitschko was reelected with 66.5% of vote.^[26] For this, he needed a second round of mayoral elections between him and Boryslav Bereza, after Klitschko scored 40.5% of the vote and Bereza 8.8% in the first round.^{[147][148][149]} (Bereza gained 33.51% of the vote in the second round of Mayoral elections.^[26]) Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained 52 seats in the Kyiv City Council with 27.56% of votes. On 26 May 2016, Klitschko resigned as Petro Poroshenko Bloc chairman, after a new law barring a head of administration to be chairman or a member of a political party took effect on 1 May.^[2]

Opening of Rusanivets Stadium in Kyiv after reconstruction on 28 October 2019

On 18 May 2019, Klitschko announced that UDAR would take part in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election autonomously.^[27] In the election the party only competed in 15 single-mandate constituencies.^[150] It failed to win any seats.^[28]

According to the Ukrainian Constitution the head of the Kyiv City State Administration should resign after a new President is elected.^[151] However, following the 21 April 2019 election which was won by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Klitschko was not dismissed.^[151] A 4 September 2019 decision by the Honcharuk Government to dismiss Klitschko was not executed.^[151]

In the election for Mayor of Kyiv of the 2020 Kyiv local elections, Klitschko was again a candidate, nominated by UDAR. He was also endorsed by Petro Poroshenko's party, now named European Solidarity.^[152] He won the election in the first round with 50.52% of the votes, 365,161 people voted for him.^[153] UDAR won 30 Kyiv City Council seats out of 120 in the 2020 Kyiv local election with 19.98% of votes, finishing second behind European Solidarity (20.52% of votes; 31 seats).^[154] As of February 2023, Klitschko is the longest-serving Mayor of Kyiv since Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, having served for 8 years and 8 months, and the only person to have won three direct democratic Kyiv mayoral elections.

Klitschko is a member of the Washington, D.C.-headquartered International Republican Institute's International Advisory Council.^[155]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Klitschko near the front line on 19 March 2022

In February 2022, Klitschko and his brother Wladimir Klitschko pledged to take up arms to protect the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine that began on 24 February.^[156][157] On 25 February, Klitschko posted a video on his Telegram channel to report on casualties in the capital city, stating, "The night was difficult, but there are no Russian troops in the capital. The enemy is trying to break into the city, in particular, from [the direction of] Hostomel, Zhytomyr."^[158] On 11 March Klitschko made a guest appearance on CNN's State of the Union.^[159]

On 15 March, Klitschko announced a 36-hour curfew from Tuesday night amid what he called a difficult and dangerous moment, stating, "I ask all Kyivites to get prepared to stay at home for two days, or if the sirens go off, in the shelters," About half of Kyiv's 3.4 million residents had fled.^[160] On 23 March, Klitschko and his brother reported from a bandstand in a park victories around Kyiv: Ukrainian forces had taken back most of Irpin (east of Kyiv), all of Makariv (west of Kyiv) and were battling for the village of Liutizh, 20 miles to the north.^[161] By 31 March, Russian forces had withdrawn from Kyiv. The following morning, Klitschko proclaimed a Ukrainian victory.^[162]

On 10 March 2022, Vitali and Wladimir announced via Telegram that they had raised €100 million of financial support for Ukraine with a fundraising campaign in Germany.^[163]

On 6 May, Klitschko warned on Telegram that there was a high probability of rocket fire across Ukraine in the coming days. There were no plans for a curfew but street patrols would be reinforced.^[164] On 23 May, Klitschko and Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba were in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.^[165] Klitschko and his brother spoke at length to an audience the same day.^[166] They told delegates to back Ukraine despite the economic pain,^[167] and that "we are defending you".^[168] They later said in an interview with Sky News, that the "biggest mistake" their audience could make was to think that the "Ukraine war doesn't affect everyone."^[169]

On 18 June, Klitschko said that Vladimir Putin was destroying millions of lives in both Ukraine and Russia, adding that Russian soldiers are dying for nothing more than Putin's ambitions.^[170] At the end of June, the Klitschko brothers attended, along with a large delegation of Ukrainians, the 2022 NATO Madrid summit.^[171]

On 23 July, The Times posted an article in which it alleged that Vitali and Wladimir were on Vladimir Putin's personal hitlist of 24 high-profile Ukrainian figures whom he wanted assassinated.^[172][173]

Klitschko and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have been internationally praised as symbols of Ukrainian resistance.^[29]

Germany

Ukraine

Russia

United States

Poland