Kiev's mayor Vitali Klitschko has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky of "mistakes" with unusual clarity. "People are wondering why we weren't better prepared for this war. Why Zelenskyi denied until the end that it would come to this," Klitschko told the Swiss news portal "20 Minuten".
"There was too much information that did not match reality," said the former boxing world champion, who called for more honesty with regard to Ukraine's true situation in its fight against Russia's war of aggression. "Zelensky is paying for the mistakes he made," said Klitschko.
You can't lie to your people and partners forever
"Of course we can euphorically lie to our people and our partners. But you can't do that forever," Klitschko continued in the interview, which was picked up by several Ukrainian and Russian media outlets on Sunday. The 52-year-old also demonstratively sided with the Ukrainian commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Valery Salushnyi, who had recently spoken of a stalemate in the war, much to Zelenskyi's annoyance.
Ukraine was at an impasse, Salushnyj had declared. "He told the truth," said Klitschko. "Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth. But ultimately he is responsible. He explained and justified what the situation is today."
At the same time, Klitschko warned against playing political games in the country, which has been fighting for its independence for almost two years. There should be no trench warfare "in a country whose very existence is shaky".
The difficult relationship between Klitschko and Selenskyj
A recent "Spiegel" article on the war in Ukraine also portrays the relationship between Klitschko and Selenskyj as broken. Since the Russian invasion, there has been no meeting or telephone conversation between the two politicians, Klitschko told the magazine - even though there are only a few hundred meters between Kiev City Hall and the presidential office.
Klitschko therefore sees the danger that Ukraine will be ruled in an authoritarian manner at some point. Even today, the local self-government of the cities is the only independent institution. However, according to Klitschko, the president sees the mayors as an obstacle to centralization, which he wants to overcome.
Klitschko believes that democracy in Ukraine is at risk. But: "Turning Ukraine into an authoritarian state just like that is almost impossible." The reason lies in the population's love of freedom.In the interview with "20 Minuten", Klitschko also thanked Germany for the delivery of air defence systems, but criticized the country for not also giving Ukraine the long-range Taurus cruise missiles. Berlin is taking refuge in "excuses" here - "our partners are far too cautious and evasive," said the mayor. (dpa/Tsp)
