Fnatic suspends BraveAF from pro VALORANT team following leaked messages supposedly showing support for Russian invasion of Ukraine

After a situation surfaced online concerning one of its VALORANT players, Fnatic has suspended Andrey “BraveAF” Gorchakov from pro play while the organization launches an investigation.

BraveAF was accused of supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier today after screengrabs of texts he had with another person were revealed. In a rough translation of the messages posted by Twitter user yXo, the 26-year-old apparently said that the West “have achieved the collapse of the USSR” and now “want the collapse of the CIS.” BraveAF also mentioned, according to the translation, that this “isn’t a full scale war” and that it’s “not about civilians.”

An update regarding BraveAF.

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) March 30, 2022

The pro player has since responded to the images on his Twitter account, saying that the messages were from Thursday, Feb. 24, and were part of a conversation he was having with a Ukrainian friend. Feb. 24 marked the start of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine.

At that time, BraveAF claims he was only checking in to make sure she was all right and said that “nobody knew what’s going on, and [he] just wrote [his] initial thoughts and first impressions” around the situation. He ultimately wants the war to end and does not want anyone hurt or killed, saying that he is on the side of peace.

About current situation… these screenshots are from direct messages of me and Ukrainian girl. We had a little chat before 24th of feb and I wrote her in the morning of 24th feb to know if she’s alright. By that time nobody knew what’s going on and I just wrote my initial…

— FNATIC braveaf (@braveaff) March 30, 2022

Fnatic said it will have further updates on its VALORANT roster in the next few days, especially with the 2022 VCT Masters tournament coming up on April 10. It’s unknown whether the team will be replacing BraveAF in its lineup.