Russian Ivan Fedotov, ice hockey goalkeeper of CSKA, the Russian army club, was arrested for evading military service at a time when Russia is engaged in its military invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

“Hockey player Ivan Fedotov was arrested in St. Petersburg. He planned to play in the NHL (American/Canadian league), but in Russia they had other plans for him: the athlete is suspected of having escaped the army. Right now they’re taking him to the military office”, reported the portal Asset.

As a member of CSKA, the 26-year-old goalkeeper is officially considered a military man. And, if he is accused of evading military service, could face up to two years in prison.

The hockey player, who has been a member of Russian teams Salavat Yuláev, Neftekhmik and Traktor, has excelled at CSKA over the past year, in which he helped win the Gagarin Cup, the KHL playoffs in Russia , and was declared as the best goalkeeper in the league in 2021.

He was also a member of the Russian hockey team, with which he participated in the Beijing Olympics.in which the Russian team won the silver medal.

According to the portal fontankaSt. Petersburg police staged an operation for his capture after the city’s military bureau requested his arrest, believing that “there are sufficient reasons to believe that Fedotov escapes military service”.

As indicated Daily mail, The 25-year-old had signed a million dollar contract to play with the Philadelphia Flyers., of the American/Canadian Ice Hockey League. Following the aforementioned medium, the player had made public his intention to play in the NHL and this arrest operation “appears to be a deliberate attempt to thwart his future plans”.

In the past few hours, a video has emerged showing the moment the athlete was arrested last Friday at the St. Petersburg ice rink. He was still at the enlistment office late at night before being taken to hospital in an ambulance.. A woman attempted to get into the vehicle, but was pushed away. We think it was his mother. Fedotov’s current whereabouts are unknown..

The man in charge of Russian ice hockey is Roman Rotenberg, son of the oligarch and close friend of Putin, Boris. Both are sanctioned by the United States for their ties to the Russian president, as is Roman’s uncle, Arkady Rotenberg.

Although he was born in Finland and brought up in Russia, the fact that he played for CSKA meant he was considered a military man. Technically, all Russian men up to the age of 28 can be called up, although few elite sons serve in the military and even fewer have been sent to fight in Ukraine.

KEEP READING: