Story highlights
- Reigning world heavyweight champion discusses Ukraine crisis
- Klitschko faces American challenger Bryant Jennings in New York on April 25
- "Ukraine is looking forward to becoming a democratic country," Klitschko says
- Klitschko's older brother Vitali a prominent figure in Ukraine democracy movement
Miami (CNN)World heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko has an important title defense coming up, but his thoughts continue to be dominated by the ongoing fight for democracy in Ukraine.
Speaking to CNN from his Miami training base ahead of the April 25 showdown with American challenger Bryant Jennings in New York, Klitschko said the crisis in his homeland has left him shocked and upset.
"My country is unfortunately suffering in the war with Russia -- not that Ukraine tried to give any aggression to any other nation, in this particular case Russia, unfortunately it's the other way around," Klitschko told CNN.
"I never thought that our brother folk is going to have war with us, so that Ukrainians and Russians are going to be divided with blood," he added.
"Unfortunately, we don't know how far it's going to go and how worse it's going to get. The aggression, in the military presence of (Russian) soldiers and military equipment in my country, Ukraine, is upsetting."
Klitschko is the reigning IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO champion and has, alongside older brother Vitali, dominated the heavyweight division in the 21st century.
Vitali, who retired from boxing in 2013, is a prominent figure in Ukrainian politics. The 43-year-old has led the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform since 2010 and was elected mayor of Kiev in May last year.
Tensions in the former Soviet state remain high despite a ceasefire agreed in February as Europe, led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President of France Francois Hollande, tries to broker a peace deal between the two sides.
Photos: Crisis in Ukraine
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Ukrainian security forces patrol in the village of Bobrovyshche on July 14, 2015. More than 6,400 people have been killed in the conflict in Ukraine since April 2014, the United Nations says.
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Ukrainian security forces on the lookout in Bobrovyshche on July 14. The country's troops face daily attacks from Russian-backed separatists despite a ceasefire being in place.
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A man with a machine gun is among the Ukrainian troops standing guard in Krimskoe town of Luhansk, Ukraine, on June 25.
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Shelling between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels leaves damage in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Monday, June 1.
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A Ukrainian serviceman fires a grenade launcher on the front lines near Donetsk on Saturday, May 30.
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Pro-Russian rebels carry the coffin of prominent separatist commander Alexei Mozgovoi during his funeral in Alchevsk, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 27.
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An American soldier, right, trains Ukrainian troops on Tuesday, April 21, near Yavoriv, Ukraine. Operation Fearless Guardian, a six-month training exercise, involves about 300 members of the American 173rd Airborne and about 900 Ukrainian National Guard troops.
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Residents flee with salvaged belongings during renewed fighting in the Jabunki neighborhood near the airport in Donetsk on Monday, April 13.
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A mortar round sticks out of the ground near a destroyed tank at a former Ukrainian army checkpoint outside Chornukhyne, Ukraine, on Monday, March 2. Russian-backed separatists had recently overran the area.
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An instructor of the Ukrainian volunteer Azov Battalion conducts training exercises in Kiev, Ukraine, on Sunday, March 1.
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A woman makes her way across a bridge destroyed in heavy fighting in Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 1.
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A volunteer gives humanitarian aid to residents of Popasna, Ukraine, on Saturday, February 28.
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A Ukrainian serviceman climbs out of a tank at a checkpoint near Horlivka, Ukraine, on Monday, February 23.
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A member of a Ukrainian military medical unit cries during a ceremony in Artemivsk, Ukraine, on February 23. Four of his comrades were killed near Debaltseve, Ukraine.
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A man holds a Ukrainian flag as he covers a victim of an explosion in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, February 22. The explosion during a peaceful protest left two dead and 15 wounded.
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Pro-Russian rebels stationed in Horlivka launch missiles on Wednesday, February 18.
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Pro-Russian separatists take position near Uglegorsk, Ukraine, on February 18.
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An army ambulance damaged in recent shelling lies by a road near Svitlodarsk, Ukraine, on Sunday, February 15.
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Ukrainian servicemen play with a soccer ball on a road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve on February 15.
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A woman salvages items February 15 from the rubble of a destroyed clinic where she had worked in Opytne, Ukraine.
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People carry a refrigerator through a balcony at an apartment building that was damaged in recent shelling in Svitlodarsk on February 15.
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A recent ceasefire was brokered during marathon talks in Minsk, Belarus. From left, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gather before negotiations begin on Wednesday, February 11.
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People stand beside the body of a woman killed during shelling in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on Tuesday, February 10.
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A volunteer gets a medical checkup at a military base for pro-Russian rebels February 10 in Donetsk, Ukraine.
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Ukrainian volunteer fighters and policemen arrest two men in Kiev, Ukraine, on February 9. The men allegedly arrived from Donetsk and were suspected of participating in pro-Russian rebel activities and organizing terrorist attacks in the Ukrainian capital.
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Residents unload humanitarian aid in Debaltseve on Friday, February 6.
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A man rides a bicycle in Vuhlehirsk, Ukraine, on February 6.
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A child waits on a bus to leave Debaltseve on Tuesday, February 3, after increased fighting in the region.
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A man stands next to his car in Donetsk on Sunday, February 1, after it was destroyed by shelling.
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The body of a civilian killed during shelling lies on the ground in Donetsk on Friday, January 30.
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People in Mariupol, Ukraine, pour soil into the grave of a recent shelling victim on Monday, January 26.
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Ukrainian servicemen prepare ammunition at a position on the front line near Mariupol on January 26.
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A man injured during shelling in Mariupol sits in an emergency hospital on January 26.
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A piece of an exploded missile sits lodged in the ground outside an apartment building in the Vostochniy district of Mariupol on Sunday, January 25.
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A resident walks by a burning building in Mariupol on Saturday, January 24.
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A pro-Russian rebel takes cover from shelling in the Kievsky district of Donetsk on Thursday, January 22.
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People in downtown Donetsk react as Ukrainian prisoners of war are handed over by pro-Russian rebels on January 22.
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A trolleybus is damaged in Donetsk's Lenin District after its station was hit by a shell on January 22.
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A rebel takes aim while protecting a supply position in the Kievsky district of Donetsk on January 22.
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Rubble and debris cover the airport in Donetsk on Wednesday, January 21.
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Vladimir Bovrichev cries next to the body of his 4-year-old son, Artiam, during Artiam's funeral on the outskirts of Donetsk on Tuesday, January 20. The boy was killed during a Ukrainian artillery strike.
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Women sit in a shelter during a battle in Donetsk on Sunday, January 18.
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A building hit by Ukrainian artillery is seen in the Voroshilovsky area of Donetsk on January 18.
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Men from the Azov Volunteer Battalion board a bus in Kiev to join the fight against the rebels on Saturday, January 17.
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Rebels sit atop a tank at a checkpoint north of Luhansk, Ukraine, on Wednesday, January 14.
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A Ukrainian soldier looks down from a military truck at the Donetsk airport on Tuesday, January 6. The airport has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in eastern Ukraine.
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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gives a speech as he hands over new military equipment to forces near the city of Ghytomyr, Ukraine, on Monday, January 5.
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A Ukrainian volunteer fighter fires a machine gun at pro-Russian rebels near the village of Pisky, Ukraine, on Saturday, January 3.
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The crisis in Ukraine began in November 2013 when former President Victor Yanukovych scuttled a trade deal with the European Union in favor of forging closer economic ties with Russia.
The move triggered a wave of anti-government protests which came to a head Kiev's Maidan Square in February 2014 when clashes between protesters and government security forces left around 100 dead.
The following month, Russian troops entered Ukraine's Crimean peninsula before Russian President Vladimir Putin completed the annexation of Crimea -- a move denounced by most of the world as illegitimate -- after citizens of the region had voted in favor of leaving Ukraine in a referendum.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict to date.
"People are dying in Ukraine every single day," Klitschko said. "I do not want to see it, nobody wants to see it ... it's hard to believe these days something like that in Europe -- and Ukraine is Europe -- can happen."
But with the backing of the international community, Klitschko is confident Ukraine can forge a democratic future rather than slide back towards a Soviet-era style dictatorship.
"I really wish and want this conflict to be solved and it can only be solved with Western help," he said.
"Ukraine is looking forward to becoming a democratic country and live under Western democracy. This is our decision and this is our will to get what we want.
Heavyweight boxing champ appeals for help for Ukraine 01:02
Ukrainian Boxing Champ talks upcoming Fight 05:20
"If somebody wants to try to put (us) back to the Soviet times and be part of the former Soviet Union, we disagree with that. We want to be in freedom.
"We have achieved many things in moving forward and showed to the world that we do not want to live under a dictatorship."
Klitschko, whose comments were made as part of a wide-ranging interview for CNN's Human to Hero series, is routinely kept abreast of developments in Ukraine by brother Vitali but also returns home whenever he can.
"As much time as I can spend, I am there in the Ukraine. It's not like I am getting the news from mass media and making my own adjustments and judgments on what's going on. It's an actual presence and understanding from the inside ... It obviously affects my life, it affects the life of my family."
The 39-year-old and his fiancée Hayden Panettiere celebrated happier times last December when the American actress gave birth to a baby daughter, Kaya.
"I need to get used to it that I'm a father, which is really exciting. I hope I'm going to have a big family with multiple kids," he said.
Klitschko isn't sure when he'll finally hang up his gloves. "I don't know how long I can last ... motivation and health have to be there to continue."
But after leaving almost all his boxing opponents battered and bruised -- the Ukrainian is seeking an impressive 18th consecutive title defense against Jennings -- Klitschko is keen to carry on fighting his own and his country's corner in the opposite way outside the ring.
"I just really want that we'll have less violence in the world ... I hope in peace we can do anything, but if we have war then it's definitely going to leave us dull and numb."
Watch Wladimir Klitschko's Human to Hero interview on CNN's World Sport program on Wednesday April 8 at 1130, 1245, 1445, 2130, 2245 and 2345 and Thursday April 9 at 0445 (All times GMT) and here online.
