“They say they are our brothers, they kill civilians”, gets carried away Vitali Klitschko after the bombardment of a building in kyiv

Obolon, in the north of kyiv: towers of buildings where rather disadvantaged Ukrainians live, a rather poor district of the Ukrainian capital. It is here that an eight-storey building was gutted at dawn, Monday, March 14, by Russian artillery fire. Missiles or shells, hard to say, in any case, the entrance to the building was literally pulverized and the damage is colossal, up to the 3rd or 4th floor.

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The fire that followed the explosion burned down a large part of the apartments. Iryna lives on the 7th floor with her husband. She was able to descend and leave the building through another entrance. “We were asleep, it was around 5 a.m., she says. There was a huge explosion. Our front door was completely blown out, all windows shattered. These Russians also have families, children, grandchildren, and they hit houses like this! I have no words to describe that. It’s horrible.”

According to official Ukrainian sources, the toll is one dead and ten injured. It could have been much heavier, but most of the residents left this building during the first days of the war. In any case, for the Ukrainian authorities, this strike shows once again that the Russians are deliberately targeting civilians. No military site is near the building.

A Ukrainian deputy, Alex Goncharenko, was on site Monday at the foot of the targeted tower to show his solidarity. He does not want to hear about a possible mistake by the Russian forces. “A big mistake? Yes! And in Mariupol too, it’s a mistake! In Kharkiv! Everywhere there are mistakes, mistakes that kill civilians, newborn babies, pregnant women! The mistake is is good for this crazed dictator Putin. But the real mistake is when the West doesn’t react to these horrors, because it’s not going to stop there.”

“Today it’s a building in kyiv. Tomorrow it will be a building in Riga, then in Warsaw. And even further. You have to understand that!”

Alex Goncharenko, Ukrainian MP

at franceinfo

The mayor of Kyiv, former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, also visited this district in northern Kyiv. It is difficult to know the agenda of the mayor of kyiv, who has become an international figure in the war in Ukraine almost in the same way as President Zelensky. Vitali Klitschko remains discreet about his movements for security reasons, but a well-informed Ukrainian journalist told us that he was expected today in Obolon. When he gets out of his black sedan, it’s impossible to miss the former boxing champion. Two meters high, imposing stature, he delivers his message to the few journalists still present in front of the destroyed building. “The images of this building show the true face of these ‘friends’ from Russia. They say they are our brothers, they kill civilians. I have no words. The images speak louder than words. And it happened here in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Exactly like in Mariupol, Kharkiv and other cities in Ukraine.”

No question of giving up, continues Vitali Klitschko: “We have to defend ourselves. Let us defend our families, our cities, our children, our future. Now, no one in our country is safe. Every Ukrainian has only one wish, freedom. We only have one message for the Russians: stop the war, go home, get out of our land.” Vitali Klitschko is also turning to the West. He calls Europe and the Americans to unity. He assures that any military or humanitarian aid will be useful.