Just one day after Polonia Bytom of the MHL released five Russian players, we have another case of a team in Poland releasing a player in relation to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. STS Sanok has released forward Alexander Mokshantsev, and the team will be without him as they try to battle back from being down 3-1 in the playoffs to Unia Oswiecim.

Rosyjski napastnik mający za sobą grę w KHL będzie sprawdzany przez sztab szkoleniowy Ciarko STS Sanok w najbliższych tygodniach. Aleksandr Mokszancew podpisał próbną umowę i obecnie trwają formalności z jego zatwierdzeniem do gry.https://t.co/MALcfcqwWr pic.twitter.com/NGow71u2y9

— Ciarko STS Sanok (@sts_sanok) October 18, 2021

Mokshantsev joined the team early on in the season. In just 26 games, the Russian forward recorded four goals and 21 assists. This was third on the team in assists for the regular season. In the playoffs, the 27-year-old had recorded two goals and an assist in four games. The former KHL forward has bounced around the lower leagues of Europe since leaving Russia in 2017. He is the first Russian player to be released by a PHL team in wake of the war.

“We believe that there is no explanation for such situations. We 100% support the sanctions against Russia and its citizens. Therefore, we decided to terminate the contract by mutual agreement of the parties with our player, Aleksander Mokszancew, immediately.” The club said in a statement alongside the release. It is currently unknown if the player was given a chance to condemn the war like the players of Polonia.

A reminder the player association of Poland did release a state asking that Russian players in the PHL, not face consequences for the actions of the Russian government.

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