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NHL star Alexander Ovechkin appeared in an advertisement for Russia’s United Russia party, which supports President Vladimir Putin, during the Washington Capitals’ media day on Thursday. When questioned about his involvement and ties to Putin amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ovechkin stated he is "for peace and love" and hopes for global understanding and stability. He also confirmed plans to live in Russia after retiring from hockey.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer for the Washington Capitals, appeared in a campaign ad for Vladimir Putin's United Russia party. The Russian business newspaper Vedomosti published images of Ovechkin alongside pro-Putin figures such as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan. Ovechkin has long supported Putin, launching the social movement "Putin Team" in 2017 to unite patriotic Russians. However, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he became more cautious about his backing. Despite criticism, Ovechkin defended appearing in the ad by stating that he is Russian and supports his country. The Washington Capitals team spokesperson said Ovechkin was "asked by his country to participate" in the video campaign during this summer while in Russia for the offseason.
Written for “Ovechkin Putin Ad Controversy” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score +0.25 for article 16779 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-17
Claims extracted
17
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject
Correction & hedging signals
95.7
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
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.
asserted
he → say → 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.
asserted
Ovechkin → ’m → 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.
asserted
it → ’m → February
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.
asserted
he → see → video
He added that he will live in Russia following the end of his sports career.
asserted
he → add → career
“As soon as I’m done playing hockey, I’m probably going to stay there,” he said.
asserted
he → do → hockey
“I’m gonna live there, my kids gonna live there, family.
asserted
kids → go → ?
I’m for peace and love, and I hope everything’s going to be OK.”
asserted
everything → ’m → peace
Ovechkin has faced scrutiny over his long-standing ties to Putin as Russia wages war in Ukraine.
asserted
Russia → face → 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.
asserted
picture → form → him
He called for peace in February 2022 following his home country’s invasion of Ukraine.
asserted
He → call → Ukraine
When asked about his support for Putin at the time, he said: “Well, he is my president.
asserted
he → ask → time
I am an athlete and … I hope everything is going to be done soon.”
asserted
everything → hope → ?
Ovechkin, who turned 41 on Thursday, has scored 929 goals in 1,573 regular-season NHL games, and the upcoming season will be his 22nd in the league.
asserted
season → turn → league
He led the Capitals to a Stanley Cup in 2018.
asserted
He → lead → 2018
He considered retirement after the Capitals missed the playoffs last season, but said he was lured back by off-season moves he felt made Washington a Stanley Cup contender once again.
asserted
Washington → consider → moves
“The new faces we have give us a chance to fight for a Cup,” Ovechkin said.
“If it was truly a rebuild, it would be hard for me.”
asserted
it → have → me
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