Just seven months after the start of the war in Ukraine, the mayor of Kyiv, former world boxing champion Vitali Klitchko, has visited Barcelona as the guest of honor at the Mercè festivities. He arrives in Barcelona at a critical moment in the conflict. While the Ukrainian troops advance with unprecedented speed in their counteroffensive to retake the territory occupied by Moscow, fear hangs over Russian society after the announcement of a partial mobilization. From the Saló de Cent, Klitchko was emphatic: "The war will only end when the last Russian soldier leaves Ukrainian soil. Period."
For the first time since World War II, Putin has called for mobilization in Russia. Is this a sign of despair?
The war started more than six months ago. The Russians had plans to occupy the whole of Ukraine in two weeks, but our warriors, our patriots, destroyed their plans. Everything Russia has done has been a failure for one simple reason: Ukrainian soldiers are highly motivated because they are fighting for our land, our families and our children. And the Russian soldiers feel like aggressors, they feel that the population does not accept them. That is why they have no chance of winning. As a former wrestler I can assure you that the most important thing is not your size or your strength, but your will and your spirit. And the Ukrainian soldiers have a will, they have a spirit and a great motivation to defend the future of our children.
It does not seem that the Russians have the same motivation judging by the queues of vehicles at the borders.
Putin has called for mobilization, which means firstly that he is not succeeding and secondly that he needs more soldiers because they are either not ready to fight or have died. But the important thing is that people do not want to be mobilized, they do not want to go to war and be killed. And little by little the Russian population understands that this is a senseless war of one person, of Putin.
What do you think European countries should do about Russian citizens trying to leave the country?
The unitary position of the EU has had an impact on Russia's readiness economically, politically. But Russian citizens must wonder why world-famous companies like IBM, Microsoft, Ikea, Mc Donald's, Coca-Cola leave the country. Why Russian citizens cannot fly to other countries. Because your brother, husband, son, friend has died in Ukraine. For what reason? That is what you should ask your government. That is why unity around Ukraine is so important to win this war and is the key to peace in Europe. I want to thank each country that has supported Ukraine, the city of Barcelona... It is very important to feel your friendship.
What is the reason why referendums have now been organized in the occupied areas?
They try to fool the world. No country will accept the results of a referendum held in the middle of a war. They try to give themselves a legality and an argument as to why they started this senseless war. All surveys conducted in Ukraine before the war showed that in all regions the majority of Ukrainians saw their country as part of the European family.
He arrives in Barcelona at a sweet moment for Ukraine due to the success of his counteroffensive.
We are not aggressors, we defend our land, our families and our children. We fight for your future. We must thank our friends for providing us with defensive weapons. We need defensive weapons. We are a peaceful country with peaceful people. But we don't want to live in a dictatorship, we don't want to live under the authoritarian regime in Russia, where there are no human rights, no freedom of the press, no democratic values. We see our future as part of the European family, because we are Europeans geographically, historically and mentally. But we need European standards of living in our land and we are fighting for them and to defend European values. We fight for each of you. Please support us.
