Arya News - Washington Capitals captain under fire for appearing in an election campaign video for Putin’s United Russia party.
Alexander Ovechkin has said he agreed to appear in a political campaign advertisement for the United Russia party, which is backed by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, because he supports his country.
“I’m Russian, and I support my country,” Ovechkin, the all-time leading goal scorer for the National Hockey League (NHL) in North America, told reporters at the Washington Capitals’ media day on Thursday.
“I’m for peace and love, and I hope in the world it doesn’t matter who you are; I hope everybody understands, everybody wants peace, and everybody hopes everything is going to be OK in the world.”
Russia will hold a parliamentary election from September 18 to 20, the first since it launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Ovechkin, who can be seen standing behind Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the video, said he was asked to participate and did not hesitate to agree. He added that he will live in Russia following the end of his sports career.
“As soon as I’m done playing hockey, I’m probably going to stay there,” he said. “I’m gonna live there, my kids gonna live there, family. I’m for peace and love, and I hope everything’s going to be OK.”
Ovechkin has faced scrutiny over his long-standing ties to Putin as Russia wages war in Ukraine. In 2017, he formed a public movement in support of Putin, and his Instagram profile picture is a photo of him and the Russian president.
He called for peace in February 2022 following his home country’s invasion of Ukraine. When asked about his support for Putin at the time, he said: “Well, he is my president. But … I am not in politics. I am an athlete and … I hope everything is going to be done soon.”
Ovechkin, who turned 41 on Thursday, has scored 929 goals in 1,573 regular-season NHL games, and the upcoming season will be his 22nd in the league. He led the Capitals to a Stanley Cup in 2018.
He considered retirement after the Capitals missed the playoffs last season, but said he was lured back by off-season moves he felt made Washington a Stanley Cup contender once again.
“The new faces we have give us a chance to fight for a Cup,” Ovechkin said.
“If it was truly a rebuild, it would be hard for me.”