Polish border guards explain why they handcuffed Usyk at airport

Polish Border Guard Major Jacek Michałowski has explained that the use of handcuffs against Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk at the airport in Kraków was not a detention but a precautionary measure. They were later removed immediately.

According to Polish news portal Dziennik Polski, Michałowski said that Usyk and another man were withdrawn from the flight, and as a result, they lost their passenger status. He said that the men did not want to go to the gate when airport security called for them.

"They did not want to go to the gate when called by the airport security service, so we were called to deal with this issue," he added.

The border guard reported that the use of handcuffs was due to the men's excessive gestures.

"The handcuffing was related to the gentleman's posture; both men were gesticulating a lot because they were unhappy that they missed their flight. Therefore, the handcuffing was a completely precautionary measure; in the office, the handcuffs were removed immediately," explained Michałowski.

After Usyk was transferred to the office, the handcuffs were immediately removed.

Boxer Oleksandr Usyk was detained at Kraków airport. Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Usyk had been released.

Earlier, Zelenskyy had written that he had a phone conversation with the detained boxer.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha considers the measures taken by Polish law enforcement officers against Usyk at Kraków airport to be "disproportionate and unacceptable" and will send a note to the Polish side.

Usyk himself commented on the incident, and the director of the Ukrainian boxer's team, Serhii Lapin, explained that the detention was due to the customs control service, which had neglected its duties.