Speaking to Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, the former world heavyweight boxing champion said it was "critically important" to have Washington on his country's side in its battle against Russia.
Asked if he is confident the US president will support Ukraine's attempts to hold as much of its territory as possible during peace negotiations, Mr Klitschko said: "It's the United States, it's very important. It's critically important."
He argued the US could secure wider stability by supporting Kyiv, adding: "If we defend our national interest, if we're talking about the peace, if we're talking about democracy, the Trump administration has to be on the side of Ukraine.
"Ukraine is the largest country in Europe and the stability in the largest countries in Europe can bring the stability of the whole region."
But asked if he trusts Mr Trump, Mr Klitschko - who has been mayor of the capital since 2014 - had to take a lengthy pause before saying: "I try to trust him, but sometimes I don’t understand clearly the messages from President Trump regarding peace in Ukraine. Peace in Ukraine is very important."
The state of peace talks
US-brokered peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv are ongoing, and the latest round took place in Geneva earlier this week.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that "meaningful progress" had been made - but speaking in his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was dissatisfied with the talks.
"As of today, we cannot say that the result is sufficient," the Ukrainian president said. "The military discussed certain issues seriously and substantively.
"Sensitive political matters, possible compromises and the necessary meeting of leaders have not yet been sufficiently addressed."
Mr Klitschko told Sky News any peace deal should not be a "capitulation agreement".
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Speaking to Reuters news agency on the condition of anonymity, five of Europe's intelligence chiefs this week said they believe Russia does not want to end the war quickly.
Four claimed Moscow is using the peace talks to push for sanctions relief and business deals, with one stating: "Russia is not seeking a peace agreement. They are seeking their strategic goals, and those have not changed."
Russia and Ukraine launch overnight strikes
Mr Klitschko's comments came after Kyiv said on Saturday morning that it had struck an industrial site deep inside Russia.
Ukraine said it hit a Russian plant manufacturing ballistic missiles in the remote Udmurtia region.
Alexander Brechalov, the region's governor, said there had been "damage and injuries" after a site was attacked overnight with drones.
Russia also attacked Ukraine overnight into Saturday, launching 120 drones and one ballistic missile, Ukraine's air force said.
Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region, said drones had damaged civilian and energy infrastructure facilities, including a secondary school and an energy company's warehouses.
Two people were injured, he said in a statement on Telegram.
Watch the full interview with Vitali Klitschko on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips at 8.30am.
Artemis II has been due to blast off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center from as early as March.
On Friday night, however, NASA discovered that the flow of helium - which is required for launch - to the rocket had been interrupted during a key part of the preparation process.
A NASA spokesperson said: "This will almost assuredly impact the March launch window."
Before the setback, the agency had announced that it was targeting 6 March to launch four astronauts around the moon and back.
The crew includes three US astronauts - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch - and Canadian
Jeremy Hansen.
They would become the first astronauts to fly to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and make the farthest human flight into space ever.
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There are no plans for the mission to land on its surface, however.
Artemis II is a precursor to NASA's planned astronaut moon landing with Artemis III, which is scheduled for 2028.
The Artemis missions are part of NASA's long-term plans to build a space station - called Lunar Gateway - where astronauts will be able to live and work and prepare for missions to Mars.
A first rehearsal for the launch earlier this month was disrupted after a hydrogen leak was discovered.
But a second test was completed on Thursday without any leaks identified after technicians replaced two seals, which launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson described as "a big step in us earning our right to fly".
When the 10-day mission is able to go ahead, it will see the crew testing life support, navigation, and communication systems to confirm everything operates as it should in deep space.
The capsule will then enter Earth's high orbit where the crew will manually pilot Orion before control is handed back to controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The astronauts will then spend four days circling the moon, travelling approximately 4,600 miles beyond its far side before returning to Earth and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
In one WhatsApp message, Detective Constable Mark Luker of British Transport Police used the term "dags".
He was referencing a scene from the Guy Ritchie film Snatch in which Stephen Graham's character struggles to understand Brad Pitt's character's accent when he mentions dogs, the misconduct panel heard.
In another message Mr Luker referred to "scrap metal, lead roofing and cable", which he accepted was a joke to link theft to the Irish Traveller community, the panel was told.
The panel concluded he was likely aware the language was "offensive" to a minority community and ruled it gross misconduct.
But it accepted that DC Luker is not "inherently racist".
The panel wrote: "As an experienced BTP police officer used to dealing with a whole range of people, the panel found that, on the balance of probabilities, he probably would have known that this was an especially offensive use of language directed towards members of a minority community."
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Mr Luker was on a WhatsApp group called "Selbie Gumshoes" with other members of the Major Serious and Organised Crime (MSOC) team, the panel heard.
On 31 December 2024, discussing someone winning a bottle of whiskey that still had a security tag attached, he wrote: "Was this a raffle on a certain kind of site? Lots of mobile type homes? Lots of 'Dags'."
He added: "You are the MSOC pikey liaison."
The panel found these were "deliberate messages, that clearly link the Irish Traveller community to acts of theft".
It said the use of the word "dags" in messages was "derogatory" as it refers to a scene in Snatch where a Gypsy character's accent is "mocked".
On 17 March 2025, another group member shared a video of "Paddy Day parade on Inishbofin", with the message: "Just like a Disney World Parade. They know how to put on a show."
Mr Luker replied: "Off to find some scrap metal, lead roofing and cable."
The panel concluded this was "deliberate and discriminatory", linking the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community to theft.
On 27 March 2025, he again used the word "pikey", which the panel found to be "disrespectful".
Mr Luker said he was one of the first responders to the London Bridge terror attack and one of his coping mechanisms for dealing with that day can involve the use of humour.
He said he did not intend to be offensive when using the word "pikey" in messages.
Concerns were raised to police over the welfare of the men, aged 19 and 20, on Wednesday.
Crews from Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, Aberglaslyn Mountain Rescue Team, RAF Mountain Rescue Service, SARDA and HM Coastguard were deployed and carried out extensive searches on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon).
North Wales Police said in a statement: "Tragically, the bodies of the two men were located and recovered as part of these co-ordinated search efforts.
"Both have now been formally identified, and their families have been informed."
Jurgen Dissmann, chair of Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, said that he wanted to extend his "most heartfelt condolences" to the families and loved ones of the two men.
He said: "The team were tasked by North Wales Police and launched an extensive multi-agency operation in full winter conditions.
"Volunteers searched across challenging mountain terrain in snow and ice, working long hours through the night in difficult weather in an effort to locate the pair as quickly as possible.
"Despite the determined and sustained commitment of everyone involved, we are deeply saddened that, despite all efforts, the outcome was not what we had hoped for."
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Meanwhile, officers from Police Scotland are trying to find a climber who failed to return from a planned hike on Ben Nevis.
Brian Mcgillicuddy, 64, was reported missing on Thursday, having last been seen at 4am on Glasdrum Road in Fort William.
Police Scotland believes the hiker planned to walk up to the Charles Inglis Clark Hut, which is typically used by mountaineers as a base camp on the north face of Ben Nevis.
Sergeant Paige Macdonald said: "Brian is an experienced hill walker, but he did not return from his planned hike and has not been heard from since."
Mr Mcgillicuddy is 6ft 1in tall, of slim build, with short grey and white hair.
He was wearing a white climbing helmet, a dark blue jacket, white jeans and blue and red gaiters, when he was last seen.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland.
The decision is a hopeful development for one of Britain's longest-serving and most notorious prisoners, and means a fuller examination of his eligibility for release will now take place.
Bronson, 73, has spent more than five decades in custody. He was first jailed in 1974 for armed robbery.
Repeated violence and hostage-taking then resulted in his sentence being increased to life.
But after 12 years without a violent conviction, this is now his ninth attempt to seek parole.
In a letter to Sky News, Bronson wrote: "I am 23 years over my tariff. I am forever denied progress. I am forever kept in solitary. They won't even take me off Cat A."
He went on: "I have to expose this unlawful sentence and treatment. It's now gone on for far to long [sic] its become a total joke."
His most recent review had been under consideration "on the papers", where written evidence is assessed by the parole board, including reports from prison officials, psychologists and probation staff.
However, the board has this week concluded that the case should progress to an oral hearing, where evidence can be tested in person and witnesses questioned directly. The hearing will allow the parole board to assess Bronson's current level of risk in greater depth, before deciding whether he can be safely released into the community.
The parole board could also decide that the best course of action is to move Bronson to an open prison and onto a normal wing with other prisoners to see how he fares. Bronson has been in solitary confinement 23 hours a day for 37 years on and off.
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Gurdeep Singh, a solicitor acting for Bronson - also known as Charles Salvador - said the move was an important step.
"Mr Salvador is delighted with the fact he has been progressed to a full hearing but he is under no illusions; this is just the start of the fight for his release," he said.
"He wants to show the world he is not the person he was, he hopes to convince the panel that he is a changed man intent on living a simple life in the outside world. He has high hopes he can see his 95-year-old mother this year."
Bronson is expected to be invited to attend the hearing in person, giving him the opportunity to address the panel directly and respond to concerns about his behaviour and future plans if he were to be released.
The parole board granted Bronson a public oral hearing in 2023, where he said: "It's no secret I have had more porridge than Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and I'm sick of it. I've had enough of it. I want to go home."
He had applied for this year's parole proceedings to be heard in public, a request we understand was rejected. But with the case now moving to an oral stage, he could seek to renew that request.
No date has yet been set for the hearing.