When you hear the name of Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Usyk on the streets of Kiev this week, many people roll their eyes, along with praise for his athleticism.
The former cruiserweight will fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship against Briton Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. Active fundraising activities For military and humanitarian causes in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. His success in the ring is associated with considerable national pride.
However, he has drawn criticism in the past for seemingly pro-Russian sympathies, mostly related to his attachment to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the branch of the Orthodox Church loyal to the Moscow Patriarch. .
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is one of President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal cheerleaders, and the concept of a common faith is key to the Russian president’s insistence that Ukraine and Russia are inseparable. ing.
Maria Fraznova, 32, who works in the film industry, said, “If boxers don’t go into politics and just do what they have to do, I don’t have any expectations for them.”
“But before the full-scale invasion, Usyk said and did things that emphasized his friendship with Russia, which was disappointing. Even if I didn’t expect anything, he had a huge amount of He should feel responsible for his actions in a country where he has a fan base and is partially occupied by Russia.
In 2021, Usyk, who grew up in Crimea, was criticized for appearing in a film. documentary Pechersk Lavra, an ancient Kiev monastery, was home to monks loyal to the Patriarch of Moscow. The series was brought to you by Oksana Marchenko, the wife of pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. The couple, who are friends of President Vladimir Putin, were targeted by sanctions in Ukraine in 2021 on suspicion of financing terrorism. They currently live in Russia.
Nevertheless, Frazunova added that since February 2024, “he has shown support for our country and our military, and that is the most important thing for me.” He is a champion and a good citizen and I wish him the best. ”
Usyk was in London when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. Ukraine’s airports were immediately closed, so I flew to Warsaw and drove to Kiev. Two days later he posted: an earnest appeal He called on Russians to stop the invasion “if you consider us to be brotherly peoples,” using the rhetoric of fraternity between the two countries that Putin is very fond of. , considered inappropriate by many Ukrainians.
Usyk quickly Joined a local territorial defense group In Kiev, the city was being shelled and threatened with siege. The following month, he received permission to leave Ukraine and train for his fight with Anthony Joshua in August 2022. In that match he wore a traditional Cossack hairstyle and then raised the Ukrainian blue and yellow flag in victory.
his charity work, usyk foundationAccording to its website, it has raised $740,000 for the Ukrainian military.
In Shevchenko Park in central Kiev, opinions about the boxer were mixed. “I wish there were more men like him. He is fighting for the honor of Ukraine,” said Oleksandr Fromm, 76, a city park employee.
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Daria Threepova, 30, who works in the marketing department, was walking her dog in the park. “Of course I’ll watch the game,” she said. “I’m sure he’ll win. I don’t think he supports Russia. He’s a Ukrainian boy. There are some scenes about religion, but it’s a tough question in general. I’m sure he supports Ukraine.”
Mark Babich, 23, who works in the IT industry, said: “He’s a very cool boxer in his prime, much more technical than the Klitschko brothers.” But I despise him challenging Tyson, because he’s really too old. Fury was much more technical in his younger days. ”
Regarding Usyk’s sometimes controversial reputation, he said: He has a right to express his religious opinions, not that I support such opinions…I don’t want to say that he is brainwashed, but he may be influenced. I think it’s sexual. ”
Katerina Rolovska, 24, a writer and bookseller, said: But now he is not friendly to Russia, he is trying to represent Ukraine, and he knows that he is Ukrainian. I am trying not to find an enemy at home because I have a big enemy called Russia. “She won’t watch the game,” she said. Personally, she was more interested in Eurovision than boxing.
