Kyiv mayor Klitschko says he is inspired by the Israeli army

Klitschko: 'We have a lot to learn from Israel because we need every citizen to defend his home and his future.'

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said he has been inspired by Israel and its army as masses of Ukrainian citizens come together to defend their country against the Russian onslaught.

With the area around Ukraine’s capital under constant bombardment from president Vladimir Putin’s troops, Klitschko has become a international figure of the country’s strength and spirit.

“We have to learn from Israel how to defend our country, with every citizen,” he told the Jerusalem Post. “If they love the country, they need to be ready to defend the country. We have a lot to learn from Israel because we need every citizen to defend his home and his future.”

The former heavyweight champion of the world, whose father’s mother is Jewish, has developed close ties with the Ukrainian Jewish community, according to The Jerusalem Post.

“I am proud to have Jewish blood,” he said.

Meanwhile, president Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that Israel could be the right place for Ukrainian and Russian negotiators to come to an agreement to end the fighting.

In a press conference in Kyiv on Saturday Zelensky said: “I’m not talking about technical meetings but meetings between leaders. I believe Israel can be such a place, especially Jerusalem. I think so, and I said this to Bennett.”