Ukrainians in Ohio are outraged by the participation of the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey team in the Russian Heritage Night event scheduled for December 12, which is supported by the Russian Heritage Network. As noted by the United Ukrainian Organizations of Ohio, this organization has a dubious reputation for supporting Russian businesses under international sanctions.
This was reported by United Ukrainian Organizations of Ohio.
"The Russian Heritage Network is a covert mechanism through which the Russian Federation attempts to circumvent Western sanctions," they said in an appeal to Columbus Blue Jackets sales manager Ian Wilkinson.
The Ukrainian community reminded the team's management of the 1000 days of war since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
"For a thousand days now, Russia has been violating international law and continuing its genocidal aggressive war against Ukraine. For a thousand days, Moscow has ruthlessly bombed hospitals, kidnapped children, tortured, raped and robbed the civilian population of the neighboring country," Gromada said.
Ukrainians called on the team to take into account the political context and the club's reputation and make the right decision, even if it is delayed.
The reason for the outrage and the community's appeal to the team's management was the promotion of the "Night of Russian Heritage" event that the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey team plans to hold on December 12 during a game against the Washington Capitals. The organization Russian Heritage Network, which actively supports this event, promotes business with Russia and the CIS countries, helping to circumvent Western sanctions.
Earlier, former NHL great Dominik Hasek expressed his negative position on the organization of such an event on a social network.
Author: Danylo Pievchev