Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goalscorer, appears in a campaign advertisement for Russia’s ruling United Russia party, which supports President Vladimir Putin. Russian business newspaper Vedomosti publishes images showing Ovechkin alongside prominent pro-Putin political and media figures as he prepares for the upcoming hockey season.
Vedomosti’s reported images place Ovechkin next to Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, the leading parliamentary candidate on United Russia’s list, and Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the state-backed media outlet RT. The outlets describe Ovechkin as a long-time supporter of Putin, framing the appearance as part of his public alignment with the Kremlin.
Across the sources, the core claim is consistent: Ovechkin is featured in United Russia campaign material, and Vedomosti is the outlet that publishes the related photographs and context. The reporting emphasizes his background and connections to figures closely associated with the Putin government.
