Vitali Klitschko sends fresh message to Vladimir Putin after being put on Russian ‘kill list’

Ukrainian heavyweight boxing icon Vitali Klitschko has issued a message of defiance to Vladimir Putin and says he is ‘ready to die’ to protect his country from Russia’s invasion.

Putin launched a military invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday and a 40-mile-long convoy of Russian troops and tanks has now reached the outskirts of Kyiv, with Putin having launched an indiscriminate bombing campaign on the country’s capital, as well as Kharkiv, over the past few days.

Klitschko, who is the Mayor of Kyiv, confirmed on Tuesday evening that ‘the enemy is on the outskirts of the capital’ and that the Ukrainian military are ‘preparing to defend Kyiv’.

‘Our armed forces, Territorial Defence Forces, are fighting heroically for our land,’ he continued.

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‘Fortifications and checkpoints have been built at the entrances to the city. I ask everyone to keep calm. Do not go outside unnecessarily and stay in shelters in case of alarm.’

Klitschko, along with his brother Wladimir, has reportedly been placed on Putin’s 24-man ‘kill list’ of high-profile Ukrainian targets but the 50-year-old insists he will not stop fighting against Russia’s invasion even if it means losing his life.

Asked if he had a message for Putin, Klitschko told CNN earlier in the day: ‘We were in the USSR, we don’t want to go back to the Russian empire.

‘We see our future as a democratic, modern, European country. That’s it, no discussion. That’s our goal and we’re fighting for that. We’re fighting for our country. We’re fighting for our dream.’

He continued: ‘We’ve never been so patriotic. I’m proud of our army. Our Ukrainian army stayed strong in front of one of the strongest armies