Vitali Klitschko has taken photos with Ukrainian soldiers as they rejoice in completing a tour of duty on the front lines in the conflict against Putin.
The Mayor of Kyiv warmly welcomed soldiers from Ukraine’s National Guard Rubezh (Frontier) brigade to the capital city yesterday.
During the visit, he posed for photographs with the soldiers and delivered a speech praising their bravery and dedication. Klitschko was captured smiling alongside the fighters, giving thumbs up, and making a patriotic gesture by placing a fist over his heart.
Later, the servicemen were honored at an award ceremony recognizing their service, following their recent return from the frontline in the Bakhmut area of the Donetsk region.
Among the soldiers now stationed in the Kyiv region was Petro Kuzik, commander of Ukraine’s National Guard 3rd Svoboda (Liberty) battalion, who also joined Klitschko for a photo along with police General Andriy Kryshchenko and a platoon commander with the call sign Dante.
The troop celebration in Kyiv coincided with the approval of a bill by Ukrainian lawmakers aimed at replenishing and rotating Ukrainian troops. The bill allows convicts to choose whether they want to spend part of their prison sentence on probation as a soldier on the front lines against Russia.
According to lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko, the law offers prisoners the opportunity to serve minor charges in military service, with exceptions for those convicted of serious crimes such as crimes against humanity, sexual violence, murder, or crimes against national security.
