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Ex-World Boxing Champion, Klitschko, now Kyiv Mayor, says he’s ‘Ready to Fight’ as Russians troops abduct Ukrainian leaders

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Ex-World Boxing Champion, Klitschko, now Kyiv Mayor, says he's 'Ready to Fight' as Russians troops abduct Ukrainian leaders

Former World Boxing Champion and currently Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has vowed that he is “ready to fight” following recent abductions of Ukrainian mayors by the invading Russian military.

Over a spate of two days, Russian forces were accused of kidnapping the mayors of Dniprorudne and Melitopol, sparking concerns that additional mayors could be abducted, including the mayor of the country’s capital city.

However, Klitschko, who was a highly regarded world heavyweight boxing champion before venturing into politics, insisted in an interview with Fox News on Monday that any Russian soldiers who hope to capture him would find that their task was “not easy.”

“I am ready to fight. This will be not easy to do that … nobody feels safe in our country right now in this very difficult situation. Everyone is ready to fight, ready to defend our city.

“I am not worried about being kidnapped. I am ready to fight, that’s why I have weapons, that’s why it’s my hometown and I want to defend the interest of my citizens, the interest of my home, the interest of my family,” Klitschko said.

Reiterating that kidnappings as a war strategy were parts of a pattern of “un-human” method being used by Russian troops, Klitschko said the invading forces have chosen to ignore the international rules of war, noting that mayors are civilian targets.

Read also: ‘Stop this aggression lest we take weapons in our hands’ – Klitschko brothers warn Russia

“War also has rules. But Russians don’t want the rules … what they want is the symbol … they can’t break the mood of the people and that’s why they kidnap the mayors.

“It’s actually against all rules. We see how unfriendly, how un-human activity make Russians in our land.”

Ukrainian officials had announced the kidnapping of Dniprorudne Mayor Matveev Sergeevich on Sunday, while the Mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, was captured two days earlier, with Russia going on to appoint a Moscow-friendly mayor in Melitopol.

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