We, the undersigned activists of Ukrainian Cultural Front DC, hockey fans, and concerned community members, write to demand immediate action from the Washington Capitals regarding team captain Alex Ovechkin, up to and including the termination of his contract.

Throughout his NHL career, Ovechkin has actively aligned himself with and promoted the Russian government—a regime responsible for grave human rights atrocities, foreign aggression, and the ongoing brutal war in Ukraine. In 2017, he founded "PutinTeam," an explicit political movement backing Vladimir Putin. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ovechkin repeatedly refused to denounce the invasion or the regime.

This past summer in Moscow, Ovechkin furthered his political engagement by participating in a propaganda campaign for the ruling "United Russia" party alongside key Kremlin strategists: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, banned  state media figure Margarita Simonyan, as well as Maria Lvova-Belova, a wanted war criminal with International Criminal Court for her role in kidnapping Ukrainian children. When questioned about his participation, Ovechkin stated, “I am Russian. I support my country”, while the United States afforded him immense prosperity (over $220 million in combined gross career earnings), freedom, and a platform, he has made it clear he does not represent Western democratic values. Instead, he remains loyal to the core of Russian state power, unreservedly serving as a face for its authoritarian apparatus. 

Ovechkin's abnormal popularity in United Stated, especially in Washington DC, is not only based on athletic talent, but also  boosted due to designed marketing of Washington Capitals, which used Russian Soft Power converted into financial revenue.

If the Washington Capitals and the NHL wish to keep sports out of politics, they must recognize that Alex Ovechkin is demonstrably NOT A NEUTRAL figure. He has repeatedly chosen to leverage his global platform as an elite athlete for explicit political advocacy—a reality made undeniably clear by his choice to maintain a picture alongside Vladimir Putin as his official Instagram profile image. Allowing a high-profile athlete to leverage his platform in the nation’s capital to validate a warmongering government directly contradicts the league's claims to stand for integrity, fairness, and human rights. This fact was pointed out by congressman Joe Wilson in his recent letter to the leaders of NHL and Washington Capitals, which currently has no formal replies.

Sports must never serve as a normalizer for state propaganda or foreign aggression. By continuing to employ and feature Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals signal tacit acceptance of his political advocacy. We urge the franchise to uphold its stated values, protect the integrity of the sport, and immediately cut ties with Alex Ovechkin.

Maryna Lvovska and Olga Onishchenko