‘I’m Russian’: NHL star Ovechkin defends Putin ad appearance

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.”