Vitali Klitschko promised to fight and issued a warning message to the world alongside his brother Wladimir on Thursday after Vladimir Putin and Russia invaded Ukraine.

The two former world heavyweight champions – Vitali is now mayor of Kiev – have been in all the stands for weeks trying to prevent a war.

Wladimir even joined the reserve army three weeks ago as tensions mounted. Vitali confirmed to a British television channel on Thursday that he would take up arms.

“I have no other choice. I have to do that. I will fight,” he told ITV News.

As mayor of Kyiv, Vitali has declared a state of emergency, which puts the Ukrainian capital under martial law.

In a video posted Thursday, the brothers denounced this war “which will not make winners, only losers”.

“We must remain united in the face of Russian aggression,” they added. We cannot allow this conflict to continue in Ukraine, in Europe and possibly all over the world. »