As the war in Ukraine nears the one-year mark, the mayor of Kiev is highlighting what’s at stake and hoping to remind people of the threat of nuclear war and his country struggling to save not only itself but every other country to defend democratic values.
Vitali Klitschko – in an exclusive Canadian interview to be aired on Sunday with CTV’s Question Time host Vassy Kapelos – stressed that it is important for people to remember that the war in Ukraine affects everyone, not just Ukrainians, adding that it would be a “big mistake” for people outside Ukraine to think that the war doesn’t affect them.
“Please remember, we are talking about nuclear weapons,” he said. “An explosion could hit anyone on our planet and that’s why we must do everything we can to stop this war.”
On February 24, a year has passed since Russia invaded Ukraine in what then Russian President Vladimir Putin called a “military special operation.” Since then, according to the United Nations, there have been 7,199 civilian deaths and more than eight million refugees scattered across Europe.
As Ukraine prepares for a likely spring offensive by Russia — and after beginning to receive long-standing requests for main battle tanks from allied countries — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is asking for warplanes.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly paid a surprise visit to Ukraine earlier this month to meet with Zelenskyi, Klitschko and other senior officials.
Zelenskyy briefed Joly on Ukraine’s latest urgent defense needs and discussed next steps in his peace formula, according to a press release from the President’s Office.
Joly later attended an international security conference in Munich, where Zelenskyy urged Western allies to quickly send military support to Ukraine, saying: “Life depends on speed.”
Klitschko told Kapelos the fighter jets that Ukraine is now asking for are “very effective” against the missiles deployed by Russia.
“We need the help,” he said, adding that the amount of aid Ukraine receives will determine how quickly it can end the war.
“We are talking about defensive weapons [so] We [can] defend our homeland,” he also said. “Ukraine has always been a peaceful country, we are peaceful people, but we have no choice at the moment, we have to fight and defend our families.”
However, when asked about concerns from some governments that sending more aid to Ukraine — in the form of warplanes, for example — could trigger a Russian escalation, Klitschko said his country was fighting to defend its democracy and that of other countries of the former Soviet Union.
“We’re not just defending Ukraine at the moment,” he said.
Featuring files from CTV’s Question Period Senior Producer Stephanie Ha
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