Kiev Mayor Klitschko SLAMS Zelensky in Interview With Foreign Press – Former Champion Heavyweight Boxer Says Ukraine Now ‘STINKS of Authoritarianism’
Former world heavyweight champion boxer, currently mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko went out publicly and torched Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidential office.
Yesterday (30), Klitschko gave an interview to the UK Times (behind a paywall) and said that the work of the Kiev City Council is paralyzed by ‘raids, interrogations and threats of fabricated criminal proceedings’.
Berliner Zeitung reported (translated from the German)
“’This is a purge of democratic principles and institutions under the guise of war’, he said. ‘I once said that it smells of authoritarianism in our country. Now it stinks of it’.
The British daily newspaper describes the open power conflict between Zelensky and Klitschko as a ‘de facto state of war’ between the two politicians.”
Our strength is not just about muscles – it starts in the mind and the heart.#FaceTheChallenge #Willpower pic.twitter.com/DMyBMKVWxP
— Klitschko (@Klitschko) May 30, 2025
The Ukrainian Anti-Corruption has arrested seven employees of the Kiev city administration in a large-scale operation, part of investigations targeting an alleged criminal network involved in corruption cases related to urban development.
“’Many mayors are intimidated, but my celebrity status is a protection’, Klitschko told the Times. ‘You can dismiss the mayor of Chernihiv, but it is very difficult to dismiss the mayor of the capital, whom the whole world knows. That is why everything is being done to discredit and destroy my reputation’.”
Tensions between Zelensky and Klitschko started before the war, with the central government accusing the Kiev city administration of corruption.
“In January 2025, Klitschko published an open letter to the president. In it, he criticized Timur Tkachenko, the new head of the Kiev military administration appointed by Zelensky, accusing him of overstepping his authority.
Klitschko urged Zelensky to ‘prevent the destruction of local self-government’. According to Klitschko, Tkachenko had blocked important decisions of the city administration, among other things.”
Tkatschenko fired back, accusing Klitschko of ‘failing to shut down’ the brothel ‘Tootsies’, located in the basement of the same building where he lives.
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