Alex Ovechkin said he is "for peace and love."

He is a Russian hockey star.

He appeared in an ad for a party.

The party supports Vladimir Putin.

The video is for the United Russia party.

People saw it this week.

It appeared days before Thursday.

On Thursday, his team had media day.

His team is the Washington Capitals.

In the ad, Ovechkin stands behind Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov is Russia's Foreign Minister.

Viacheslav Fetisov also took part.

He is a longtime Soviet hockey star.

Ovechkin said he is Russian.

He supports his country.

He said he hopes everyone understands.

He said everybody wants peace.

He said he did not hesitate to take part.

They asked him, and he said yes.

Ovechkin supported Putin before, in 2017.

He started a social movement.

It was called the "Putin Team."

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Then he said, "Please, no more war."

People asked him about Putin then.

He said Putin was his president.

But he said he is not in politics.

He said he is an athlete.

Russia's parliamentary election is this week.

It features United Russia and nine other parties.

All of them support Putin's policies.

One party opposed the war in Ukraine.

That party is barred from the ballot.

Ovechkin turned 41 on Thursday.

He said he plans to live in Russia.

He will live there when he retires from the NHL.

He called Russia his home.

He called Washington, D.C., his second home.

He is not sure about his future.

His future after the 2026-27 season is not clear.

He said he is focusing on training camp.

He said he has to make the team.