Russian Solider Says Vasyl Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk Video Helped Convince Him To Invade Ukraine Is Wrong

By: Sean Crose

“Back home, I always enjoyed watching them.”

A Russian officer was recently captured by Ukrainian troops during his country’s bloody invasion of Ukraine. The people this officer refers to in the widely released video are none other than two Ukrainian boxing stars, Oleksandr Usyk and Vasyl Lomachenko. The statement about the video of two boxers declaring their readiness to defend Ukraine made him feel guilty about the course of his country, the officer asserted: “Personally, as soon as we entered this territory, I viewed the address of your professional boxers, boxers. … Back home, I always enjoy watching them, Usyk and Lomachenko, they are my favorites. I mean when I say it.”

The officer’s video shows him sitting among his captured teammates, some of whom look like they’ve just come out of the ring with the Klitschko brothers. “These people (Usyk and Lomachenko) are ready to take action,” continued the officer. “They said ‘we don’t call you here’ and I felt ashamed that we came to this country.”

First things first – captured fighters often make statements in support of their captors. That’s why some would understandably argue that the employee in question was coerced into saying what he did on the video. Whether this is true or not is anyone’s guess. With that in mind, it’s hard to deny that the actions of Lomachenko and Usyk, who have left immensely lucrative careers to engage in a war they may not have survived, are remarkable.

Along with Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko and his younger brother, former heavyweight kings Wladimir, Lomachenko and Usyk have received much public praise for their willingness to participate in the defense of their homeland, which has been attacked in a major invasion of the Russian army less than two weeks ago.