Zelenskyy says Abramovich offered to carry messages to Kremlin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who is under Western sanctions, visited Kyiv and offered to act as an intermediary between Kyiv and the Kremlin. Speaking to Sky News while on a working visit to London, Zelenskyy said: “Abramovich came to Kyiv. He told me: ‘I am in direct contact with you. I want to receive a message from you and deliver it to Vladimir Putin, but it has to be done quietly, without publicity.’” Zelenskyy said the meeting was “not secret” and that the Russian side wanted to know what Ukraine “planned to do.”

No territorial concessions

Zelenskyy said he told Abramovich: “This is not about us. You are waging war against us on our land. I told him we will not leave Donbas, we will not abandon our territory. You will not achieve victory this way.” The Ukrainian leader reiterated that he would not meet Putin in Russia or Belarus. He also said he could accept a halt to fighting along current front lines to accelerate peace negotiations, but insisted that this would not mean giving up territory. “Yes, that is the fastest way. But we want the war to end in a way that it does not return. The goal is not just to freeze the conflict,” he said.

Abramovich’s role

Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club, played a significant role in early peace talks and the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia will not stop the war unless Kyiv abandons Donbas, which comprises Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ukrainian forces currently control about one-fifth of Donetsk.