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It’s been fodder for memes, the cold open on “Saturday Night Live” and the predictable polarizing political talking points, but last week’s Oval Office spectacle with President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left one Lakers player with a small sense of hope among a continued sense of grief.
Reserve center Alex Len, one of two Ukrainian players active in the NBA, said he’s seen public support for his country’s fight against Russia wane since the war’s first days, and he’s hoping the news coverage of the argument between America’s and Ukraine’s political leaders can be a step toward resolution.
“At the end of the day, we all want just one thing — for the war to stop and for everybody to feel safe again,” Len told The Times on Sunday. “I think that’s the end goal of this whole thing. People just want to live normal life. Like my friends and family that I talked to back home, everybody wants that. … We’re tired of the war. We want the war to stop and we want to come back to normal life and just, live normal life.
“Cause this is crazy.”
Len had family displaced from his hometown, Antratsyt, more than 10 years ago when Russian-backed soldiers began seizing territory in the region. It is now under Russian control. Len, who last was in Ukraine in 2018 when he played for the country’s national basketball team, said he’s heard stories of atrocities from friends and teammates still in the country.
“It’s been so long this has been going on, it’s part of life,” Len said. “But it’s always hard when you’re like, in these conversations, tough conversations with your family, friends and family. Just hearing them talk about what they go through is tough.”
He and former Laker Svi Mykhailiuk, currently a member of the Utah Jazz, launched the Hoop For Ukraine Fund after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“It is difficult. All the stuff that’s going on back home has just, it’s affected everybody’s lives,” Len sais. “Like I know a lot of friends that have, you know, fought in the war. I know some friends that passed away in the war. I mean, it’s just, the situation is just very, you know, it’s … I mean, it’s hard even putting it in words.
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“There’s a lot going on and you know, we’re trying to help as much as we can. But it’s unfortunate.”
Len said he thinks Ukraine needs more than a deal ensuring the war’s end — the message he hopes people take out of the Trump-Vance-Zelensky news conference.
“They responded very emotionally. But hopefully they’ll be able to come up with a solution to finally stop the war and in a way that Ukraine is protected,” Len said. “Because all Zelensky said is, ‘Yeah, we want a ceasefire. But in the past, Putin broke this ceasefire so many times. We need security to make sure when the ceasefire is not enough. He signed it so many times, and he broke it, and we’re still getting attacked. What’s the purpose of ceasefire? We need more than just ceasefire.”
Len said he hopes that Oval Office meeting can inspire another round of attention on a problem, he says, won’t be isolated to his country if it isn’t dealt with.
“Help as much as you can. Help Ukrainian people to fight for democracy, for our country,” Len said. “Because I think, like Zelensky said, I feel like with Putin, if we lose this war, he’s not going to stop there. He’s going to go to the Baltics probably.
“I think it’s just, it’s more than a war somewhere. Yeah. Because it’s going to affect everybody.”
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