Lomachenko's crusade, Kremlin agents, and useful idiots.
Vasyl Lomachenko is celebrating his 37th birthday as the reigning world champion in the lightweight division according to the IBF (International Boxing Federation). His athletic career is approaching a logical conclusion, and few can predict what lies ahead for the native of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi outside the ring.
Lomachenko's Crusade
On his Instagram (currently, Vasyl has 2.2 million followers, many of whom are from the USA) Lomachenko has been reposting narratives from the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP) for a long time.
For many years, Lomachenko has been a radical supporter of the UOC MP. His affiliation with the UOC MP transformed Lomachenko from a Ukrainian who traditionally gifted a blue and yellow flag to each of his opponents before international competitions in his youth into a staunch pro-Russian figure. A city eccentric. And, sadly, even the full-scale Russian invasion has not altered this agenda.
It has become known who provided Lomachenko with religious "programming"
Lomachenko's Resemblance
There have been several similar precedents in the history of Ukrainian lands.
It is hard to believe, but 110 years ago, during World War I in western Ukraine, much of which then belonged to Austria-Hungary, Moscow-friendly rhetoric was also popular (!). For decades, it was fervently propagated by local branches of the ROC and generously funded by the Russian Empire. The narratives were the same as today. Before the war – about one nation.
After the war began, priests provided their congregations with more explicit guidance:
Now, Lomachenko resembles the "Moscow sympathizers" of Galicia at the beginning of the 20th century. The same largely illiterate Ukrainian peasants who, in 1914, went to the hills to see if the Russian imperial army was coming to grant them the long-awaited freedom and happiness. After all, they were told so in church.
However, following the results of the Galician battle of 1915, when the Russian imperial army captured Lviv and Chernivtsi, the number of Moscow sympathizers in Lviv and Bukovina significantly decreased. The months that Ukrainians-Rusyns spent under occupation allowed them to realize what "Russian peace" truly meant.
It seems Lomachenko has yet to grasp this. Almost three years have passed since the full-scale invasion. On the other hand, Vasyl's business projects explain a lot to us.
Lomachenko and Boxing
Uncertain prospects for a boxer with a Ukrainian passport in the ring.
Vasyl last fought over 9 months ago. The two-time Olympic champion defeated local favorite George Kambosos Jr. in May 2024 in Australia. But time is ticking. Lomachenko needs to defend his championship title. Yet he has not decided whether to continue his professional boxing career. Clearly, this decision depends on his motivation and health condition.
I recall an interesting dialogue I had with Wladimir Klitschko in the spring of 2019 regarding his potential return to the ring. At that time, the 44-year-old Klitschko responded very candidly:
Soon we will find out if Vasyl Lomachenko has the motivation and opportunity to return to the ring.