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Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

From boxing to politics: Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv

1/30/202635 min

How did the world heavyweight champion end up running a city of 3 million people in wartime?

Vitali Klitschko joins Nick from the Ukrainian capital in the midst of a Russian campaign to descimate the city's energy infrastructure.

He talks about what peace could look like, the lessons he learned from living under Soviet rule as a child, and why he decided to abandon a lucrative life in the US to enter Ukrainian politics.

Senior producer: Daniel Kraemer Producer: Flora Murray Sound: Ged Sudlow Editor: Giles Edwards

Clips

No Meetings With Zelensky
Putin's Empire and Nuclear Peril
Telling Kyiv Residents to Leave
Losing Father to Chernobyl
Realizing Soviet Propaganda Was False
We Surprised the World

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Nick Robinson· Host0:00

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  6. Nick Robinson· Host0:50

    [upbeat music] All too often, the language of politics is the language of conflict, of war. People speak of fights and battles and coups. My guest on Political Thinking this week is all too aware of the difference between the two. He's the mayor of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, which came under fire for the first time 205 weeks ago when Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade their neighbor. "To fight is the first principle of life," says Vitali Klitschko, who made his name and made his fortune in the boxing ring, where he and his younger brother dominated for year after year. The

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