Ukraine’s Wladimir Klitschko praises Germany for support

Former world boxing heavyweight winner Wladimir Klitschko stands at a residential district that was weakened by shelling, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine carries on, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 18, 2022. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

BERLIN, April 2 (Reuters) – Wladimir Klitschko, a Ukrainian former boxing champion whose brother is the mayor of Kyiv, heaped praise on Germany for its enable after assembly officers in Berlin in an hard work to drum up much more guidance for his country.

Klitschko and his brother Vitali, also a former boxing star, have solid ties to Germany, possessing put in most of their specialist occupations there. But they have earlier accused Berlin of failing to do sufficient to assistance Ukraine in the encounter of the Russian invasion.

In a video shot exterior the Bundestag and posted on his Twitter feed, Wladimir Klitschko explained he experienced been capable to see for himself through his two-day take a look at that the two nations were being “truly brothers and sisters figuratively now” and he would in no way fail to remember Germany’s help.

The German govt has created several policy U-turns in the last 6 weeks, agreeing to send Ukraine weapons, suspending a fuel pipeline challenge with Russia that bypassed the former Soviet point out, and vowing to increase defence paying out. study far more

For the duration of the stop by by Wladimir Klitschko, who enlisted in the Ukrainian reserve military soon in advance of war broke out, German media confirmed pictures of him conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the foreign, finance and economic climate ministers.

“Klitschko and his delegation introduced the Ukrainian battling spirit that reaches us in many photographs each day into the foreign ministry,” Overseas Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on Instagram. “For the governing administration and me it is distinct: we will go on to assistance Ukraine with all our force.”

Klitschko’s praise contrasted with ongoing criticism of Germany from the Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin Andrij Melnyk, who on Saturday criticised it for resisting a European embargo on Russian vitality imports.

“When will the cruel steps versus Ukrainian civilians be undesirable more than enough for Germany to eventually flip off war prison (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s revenue faucet and impose an embargo for oil, fuel, coal and metallic? How very long will you however be reluctant?” he reported in a tweet he tackled to the federal federal government.

Moscow has denied concentrating on civilians in what it calls a “particular navy operation” to demilitarise and “denazify” its neighbour.

Reporting by Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke
Enhancing by Frances Kerry

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