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Hall of Fame Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko shared a video on his X account accusing podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan of spreading "Russian propaganda" during his recent rant accusing U.S. and Ukrainian leaders of trying to "start World War III."
āYou talk about these American weapons being sent to Ukraine, which you believe will lead to the Third World War. So, let me tell you that youāre repeating Russian propaganda ā Putinās Russia is in trouble. So they want to scare you and people like you.Ā His war was supposed to last three days, it has lasted three years thanks to the heroism and sacrifice of us Ukrainians,ā said Klitschko, who has served in the Ukrainian Army since Russia's invasion of his home country in 2022. āSo youāre using the only weapon that Putin really intends to use: propaganda and this weapon really weakens our democracies.Ā Putinās Russia wants to destroy Ukraine quietly, they want America to stay quiet ā not great. A great America is not an America that abandons countries that defend freedom with their lives.ā
Rogan recently criticized President Joe Biden for authorizing the Ukrainian military to use American-supplied long-range missiles, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "terrified" by the country's response to Kremlin forces.
āZelensky says Putin is terrified. Fāk you, man. Fāk you, people. You people are about to start World War III,ā Rogan said. āMaybe that would be a good thing we would like to avoid from a dying former president.ā
Klitschko, 48, whose brother, Vitali, serves as the mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, offered to appear on Rogan's podcast to discuss their differing views "like free men." The Ukrainian boxer held multiple heavyweight championships between 2000 and 2015, which included unifying titles between 2008 and 2015, was an Olympic super-heavyweight gold medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Games and was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021.