Boxer Oleksandr Usyk expressed confidence that Ukraine will be able to return occupied Crimea.
In an interview with the YouTube channel Bombardier, Usyk shared that he is receiving messages of support from numerous people currently in Russian-controlled territory. According to him, these people express support for Ukraine, but cannot do so publicly due to fear of persecution.
When asked about the possibility of returning Crimea, Usyk noted that his confidence is not limited to faith. “I don’t believe in it, I know it. Believing and knowing are different things,” the boxer emphasized.
Oleksandr Usyk was born in Simferopol and has previously expressed mixed views on Crimea. In 2016, he said that “Crimea is Crimea,” and in 2018, he called the peninsula “God’s,” while supporting the ATO soldiers. Usyk is also known to have noted that he does not divide Ukrainians and Russians, emphasizing the commonality of Slavic culture and pointing out that problems exist only in people’s heads.
After the start of the full-scale war, Usyk openly declared that Crimea is and will be Ukrainian: “Yes, it is Ukrainian. It was – it was taken brazenly: people just came – they took it, they squeezed it out.”.
