Alexander Ovechkin's support spot for Vladimir Putin provokes reactions

Many voices were raised after hockey star Alexander Ovechkin appeared in a spot supporting Vladimir Putin filmed this summer, a clip "in which he was asked to participate by his country", tried to temper his Washington Capitals team.

The top scorer in the history of the North American League (NHL) is part of a group of Russian personalities standing behind Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is praising the merits of Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, ahead of elections to the lower house of parliament, scheduled for Friday September 18 to Sunday September 20.

A choice that has only passed with former players like the Czech Dominik Hasek, one of the best goaltenders in the history of the NHL and a member of the Hall of Fame since 2014. "Everyone in this photograph has chosen to officially support Russia's imperialist war in Ukraine. Among them are also the hockey player Ovechkin and the former hockey player and captain of the national team Fetisov. Because of each of them, many Ukrainians and Russians will be killed,” reacted the former Detroit Red Wings player.

Ovechkin, who re-signed for a season with his longtime team at age 40, is a longtime supporter of the Russian president. But his appearance in this campaign clip raises eyebrows, while Russia has been at war with Ukraine since 2022. “Alex Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who lives in Moscow with his family between NHL seasons, and he will return to settle there at the end of his career,” underlined a spokesperson for the Washington Capitals in a message sent to AFP.

He has already posed with Putin on his Instagram account

“This summer, while he was in Russia, he was asked by his country to participate in a campaign video,” the statement added. “As the longest-serving active athlete in Washington, D.C., and a pillar of our community, he and we are focused on the upcoming season and the ongoing impact he has on the ice and in our city.”

Vladimir Putin's United Russia party is certain to win the majority of seats in the Duma this weekend, but the vote will also serve as a barometer of public opinion in the country. The war in Ukraine has caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers.

Ovechkin previously supported Putin during the 2018 presidential elections, and he uses a photo of him and the Russian president on his Instagram page. However, after the attempted invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Capitals striker asked: "No more war", adding: "He is my president but... I don't do politics".