Ovechkin's Putin campaign ad controversy
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin drew criticism after appearing, without speaking, in a campaign video for Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party ahead of parliamentary elections, standing behind Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alongside state-media figure Margarita Simonyan. The Capitals organization defended the NHL's all-time goal-scoring leader, saying he was 'asked by his country to participate' while spending the offseason in Moscow, and stressed that the team's focus remains on the coming season. Ovechkin, who founded a pro-Putin fan movement called 'PutinTeam' in 2017 and still uses a photo of himself with Putin as his Instagram profile picture, has faced periodic criticism over the relationship since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when he called for 'no more war' but declined to criticize Putin directly, saying only that he is 'not in politics.'
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As it ran
17 September 2026
- NHL superstar Ovechkin ‘was asked’ to film Putin ad, team says Al Jazeera
- Rep Wilson blasts Ovechkin's Putin party ad appearance as 'shameful' Fox News