Ukraine’s boxing heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has sent a desperate plea to Vladimir Putin requesting that he “Stop this war!”.
Usyk (19-0 Boxing) was in Sheffield, England, earlier this week to promote the release of the new boxing game eSports Boxing Club.
During his time away, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military invasion on Usyk’s home country of Ukraine.
Despite the threat of Russian forces breaching the capital city Kyiv, Oleksandr Usyk has returned to his homeland and delivered a powerful message to the Russian President on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/MichaelBensonn/status/1497557690050129920
“Good morning, my name is Usyk Oleksandr. I want to appeal to the Russian people. If you consider us brotherly people, do not let your military, your children, go to our country. Stop attacking us! I also appeal to President Putin. Stop this war! Don’t give us ultimatums and declare your conditions, just sit down at the negotiating table. We need to talk and stop everything. Our children, our mothers, our grandmothers and ordinary people are hiding in basements. We are on our own land, we act as we have to. We are protecting ourselves. Stop it. Stop this war!”
Oleksandr Usyk is not the only Ukrainian Sports Star to take a stance against Putin and the Russian invasion. The legendary Klitschko brothers have taken up arms for the Ukraine army (see more on that here).
“It’s a very difficult situation. We stand in front of one of the biggest and strongest armies in the world. But, we have to defend our families, our country, our cities. We don’t have another choice… Ukraine was always a peaceful country, peaceful people. But right now, we have to take weapons and fight.” – said Vitali Klitschko
Usyk last competed inside the squared circle in September of 2021, where he defeated Anthony Joshua in a stunning upset to claim the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.
One can only hope that the plea’s of Oleksandr Usyk and millions of others will result in Putin pulling Russian forces out of the Ukraine.