Oleksandr Usyk and Vitali Klitschko are 'prepared to die' for Ukraine
- Planet Sport writer
- 2 March 2022
Oleksansdr Usyk and Vitali Klitschko will do anything possible to protect Ukraine from Russia's invasion.
Oleksandr Usyk is putting the boxing gloves down to fight for something more serious - his country.
The heavyweight champion, alongside Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko and Vasily Lomachenko, are on the streets trying to protect to streets of Ukraine following Russia's invasion.
While Usyk's life is on the line as he battles on the frontline, the 35-year-old has revealed he is not scared and will kill if he has to.
"If they will want to take my life, or the lives of my close ones, I will have to do it," Usyk said regarding the possibility of him having to kill another human to CNN.
Usyk 👑 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/mw9HEL2fVh
— Sam Jones (@mrsamjones88) March 1, 2022
"But I don't want that. I don't want to shoot, I don't want to kill anybody, but if they will be killing me, I will have no choice," Usyk continued.
"Maybe it'll sound sentimental, but my soul belongs to the Lord and my body and my honour belong to my country, to my family. So there is no fear, absolutely no fear. There's just bafflement - how could this be in the 21st century?"
Klitschko prepared to defend Kyiv
Vitali Klitschko - mayor of Kyiv - has sent a message to Russia, stating he is 'prepared to die' for his country.
On Tuesday evening, Klitschko said Russia were on the 'outskirts of the capital' and that the Ukrainian military are 'preparing to defend Kyiv'.
"Our armed forces, Territorial Defence Forces, are fighting heroically for our land," he said.
"Fortifications and checkpoints have been built at the entrances to the city. I ask everyone to keep calm. Do not go outside unnecessarily and stay in shelters in case of alarm."
Asked if he had a message for Putin, Klitschko told
CNN on Tuesday: "We were in the USSR, we don't want to go back to the Russian empire.
"We see our future as a democratic, modern, European country. That's it, no discussion. That's our goal and we're fighting for that. We're fighting for our country. We're fighting for our dream.
"We've never been so patriotic. I'm proud of our army. Our Ukrainian army stayed strong in front of one of the strongest armies in the world. Our soldiers are heroes, they showed great performance.
"Right now, so many thousands of civilians come and help with civilian defence. People come and take the weapons and are ready to defend our homes, defend our families and defend our future and country.
"I am very proud to see how patriotic people are. We're not interested in how strong the Russian army is, we're ready to fight.
"And we're ready to die for our home country and for our families, because it's our home, it's our future and somebody wants to come to our home and steal our future from us."
