Ovechkin's Political Ties Surface via United Russia Campaign Video
AI-generated image · US National Wire
The Washington Capitals captain maintains he is 'not in politics' despite appearing in a promotional video for a pro-Putin organization.
Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin has faced renewed scrutiny after appearing in a video campaign for United Russia, a group that supports Russian President Vladimir Putin, as The Guardian first reported.
Ovechkin appeared in the campaign video ahead of parliamentary elections alongside other figures, including Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the state-controlled media outlet RT. When questioned by reporters on Thursday, Ovechkin stated, “The thing about the video: I’m Russian,” and added that he is “for peace and love.”
This is not the first instance of Ovechkin’s proximity to the Russian president. The Guardian reports that Ovechkin previously featured Putin in his Instagram profile photo and participated in a social media campaign boosting the president. Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Ovechkin referred to Putin as “my president,” while simultaneously claiming, “I’m not in politics, I’m an athlete.”
In a statement released Wednesday, the Washington Capitals described Ovechkin's participation in the video as a request from his country while he was in Russia for the summer. The team noted that Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who spends his offseasons in Moscow and emphasized his role as a “pillar of the community” in Washington, DC. The organization stated that its focus remains on the upcoming season and Ovechkin’s impact on the ice.
The situation has drawn criticism from former NHL goaltender Dominik Hasek. Writing on X, the Czech icon criticized the Capitals’ statement for ignoring the casualties of the war in Ukraine, asserting that Ovechkin bears a “significant share of responsibility” through his public stances, according to The Guardian.
During a media scrum on Thursday, Ovechkin attempted to pivot away from the topic, telling reporters, “let’s do hockey questions.” The Guardian reports that when an ESPN reporter later pressed him regarding the invasion and the video, Ovechkin repeated that he is “not in politics” and stated he “can’t say who’s right and who’s wrong” before ending the interview.