Famous boxer and number one on the "Pora-PRP" bloc list Vitaliy Klitschko has officially announced his intention to run for Kyiv mayor.

He stated this at a press conference on Thursday, signing a statement to the territorial election commission right away.

"I prepared very seriously for this step, I am aware of the responsibility that falls on a mayoral candidate, that falls on my shoulders. I want to become Kyiv mayor because I love my city Kyiv very much and want to make life in it better," he said.

Klitschko said the Kyiv head elections are a priority for him and if he has to choose between the mayor's post and a deputy's seat, he will choose the former. "Municipal elections are a priority for me," he said.

Klitschko also made public an address to Kyiv residents.

According to Klitschko, he informed Oleksandr Omelchenko about his plans to run for mayor, to which the latter replied: "A bad soldier is one who does not dream of becoming a general."

At the same time, Klitschko noted that he has good relations with Omelchenko and that he always invited him to his fights.

Klitschko noted that competition between him and Omelchenko in the mayoral elections should not affect their personal relations. "Because I am confident that differences in political views cannot affect personal relations," he said.

Klitschko has not yet made public his action program, but hinted that its main points will be the problems of corruption, transparency of decision-making, and illegal construction.

According to Klitschko, he will fight corruption "with the methods that have long worked in the West – transparency of decision-making."

Responding to journalists' questions about the alleged ownership of many real estate properties in Kyiv, Klitschko said: "In Kyiv I own an apartment on Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St. where I live. And that is all."

To the question of whether he dreams of becoming president, he replied: "I haven't thought that far. We have a president, I think we will have a worthy parliament and prime minister. I very much want to become a good mayor of Kyiv."

To the question about his main competitor in the elections, Klitschko replied: "If I fight, I will fight not against competitors, I will fight for Kyiv residents."

Commenting on his lack of managerial experience, Klitschko replied: "A mayor does not necessarily have to be a so-called manager. The mayor of Berlin is a lawyer, the mayor of New York is a financier, the mayor of Los Angeles is a history teacher, the mayor of Bonn is a philosophy teacher."

Klitschko noted that he has many international contacts that he will use in the position of Kyiv mayor.