Kiev Mayor Vitali Klischko confirmed this Tuesday in Lisbon the complaint that Russia’s war against Ukraine aims to destroy the Ukrainian people.
“It’s not a special operation, it’s not war, it’s genocide, it’s terrorism,” Klischko said during a speech to the Lisbon City Council (CML) after receiving the city’s honorary key.
The former boxer insisted that Ukrainians want to be part of the European democratic family and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting to rebuild the former Russian Empire.
“We don’t want to be part of the Russian Empire”he said before his counterpart in Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, and an audience of guests including several diplomats.
Klischko said that the war in Ukraine, which has been going on since February 24, 2022, is the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II (1939-1945) and reaffirmed that Russia must be defeated.
“Ukraine must succeed in this war”he said, admitting that Ukrainians never expected Russia to invade the country, despite deploying troops on the border of the two countries.
“We always thought they wouldn’t,” he said.
More than a year later, he said there is no estimate of the number of civilian and military casualties, but it is known that “there are thousands and thousands”, and that there is a high level of destruction in the country.
“Kiev is not in the front line, but 800 buildings were destroyed in the city and 150 civilians were killed, including five children,” he illustrated since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Klischko said the war had devastated Ukraine’s economy and reiterated his call for the European Union (EU) to help rebuild the country after the war.
“We are waiting for help from our friends and joining the EU, but for now we have to fight for our freedom”he claimed.
Already thinking about the post-war period, Klischko handed Moedas a plan with suggestions for Lisbon’s participation in the reconstruction of Kiev, an official CML source told Lusa.
Klischko also invited the president of the CML to visit Kiev, an invitation that Moedas accepted, with a date yet to be determined, the same source said.
The mayor of Kiev, a position he has held since 2014, also thanked the Portuguese for their help and solidarity, in particular for welcoming thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
Portugal has granted more than 59,000 temporary protections to people who have fled Ukraine since the war began, according to data released Monday by the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).
Lisbon is the municipality with the most temporary protections granted, 12,570, followed by Cascais (3,798), Porto (3,042) and Sintra (1,997), according to the SEF.
“Since the beginning of the war, we have helped many,” said Carlos Moedas, who recalled that the Portuguese supported the Ukrainians from the very beginning.
The city’s key of honor recognizes “national or foreign personalities, institutions or organizations that – because of their prestige, position, action or relationship with Lisbon – are deemed worthy of this award,” according to the CML.
Source: DN
