DW exclusive interview with Wladimir Klitschko on the situation in Ukraine | DW News

The brother of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, who is fighting against invading Russian troops as a member of Ukraine's territorial defense forces, has been speaking to DW about the situation on the ground in the Ukrainian capital as well as the relationship between his country and Germany.

Speaking about the situation on the ground in Kyiv after Russian troops left positions surrounding the city, Klitschko said the city was coming back to life but that great caution was necessary.

"In the past days, you could tell that Kyiv is getting back to life, so to speak. You see more people on the streets as well as more cars on the roads," he said.

Klitschko denied reports from the Russian side that the besieged port city of Mariupol had fallen to the invaders, but said the situation there was dire.

"In fact, the city is still defended, and the defenders of the city are still in Mariupol," he said. "Russian troops have been trying to capture the city completely without success."

"We are prepared for anything, as we were for the past, in the worst case for attacks with chemical weapons," he said, adding: "Obviously, we need to have supplies and support from the free world and our allies and partners on the humanitarian side, military equipment" and the continuance of sanctions on Russia.

Asked about the support Germany was giving to Ukraine, Klitschko said he had noticed a sense of unity in Germany with regard to the need to combat the Russian invasion, but that progress in some areas was slow.

"We are getting incredible support from Germans on the humanitarian side; there are a lot of refugees that have been taken in in Germany," he said, while also mentioning Germany's involvement in sanctions against Moscow.

"The process is slow, but we are moving together against this aggression, and Germany is not an exception and stands with together with Ukraine," he said.

He said he hoped German President Steinmeier would have a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the near future after Steinmeier apologized for making errors in his approach to Russia.

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