‘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.