Vitaly Klitschko, mayor of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, expressed his belief that the Russian attack on his country affects Germany directly, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to restore the former Soviet Union.
During a visit to the northern German city of Hamburg and meeting with Mayor Peter Schenture, the mayor of Kiev addressed the Germans: "You Germans should not forget that part of Germany, where Putin worked for years as an agent of the KGB, was affiliated with the great Soviet-Russian empire."
The Ukrainian official considered that his country defends from this point of view "every one of you from Putin," adding that Ukraine defends its European future, as he described, stressing that Ukrainians prefer "living without water and without electricity than living with Russian soldiers."
Klitschko's visit to Hamburg coincides with the first anniversary of the conclusion of the "Charter of Solidarity and the Future" between Kiev and Hamburg, accompanied by his brother Vladimir Klitschko and Tatyana Kiel of the "We are all Ukrainians" initiative.
The mayor of Kiev is a former boxing champion who began his professional career in Hamburg with his brother Vladimir.
According to dpa news agency, Germany strongly supports Ukraine militarily and economically in its response to the Russian invasion.