More than two dozen pro-Ukrainian organizations in Canada and the United States have sent a call to the National Hockey League (NHL) to cease cooperation with the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This decision follows recent negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This is reported by Kyiv24
In March, the Russian side announced that Trump supports Putin’s initiative to hold hockey matches between professional American and Russian players. According to the plans, such games were to take place in both the U.S. and Russia.
Call to the NHL
Among the organizations that signed the letter is the New York-based nonprofit organization “Together for Ukraine,” which is dedicated to providing non-military assistance to Ukraine. The open letter to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, which was obtained by Reuters, includes a call to reject any cooperation with the Russian league.
“If such matches were to take place, they would be an insult to millions of NHL fans in the U.S. and Canada and to those of Ukrainian descent in both countries. We urge you to express immediate, public, and unequivocal opposition to this proposal,” the letter states.
NHL’s Response
An NHL representative noted that the league did not participate in the initial discussions and was unaware of any further discussions on this topic. The KHL, which consists of 20 teams from Russia, as well as one each from Belarus, Kazakhstan, and China, has not yet provided a comment regarding this request.
The proposal to hold matches between American and Russian clubs was made by Vladimir Putin during his conversation with Donald Trump on March 18. Meanwhile, the White House’s account did not mention this idea.