Roman Abramovich visits Ukraine to resume peace talks with Russia

According to Bloomberg, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich flew to Kyiv on Saturday in an attempt to revive peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which have stalled more than seven weeks into the conflict.

According to anonymous individuals acquainted with the meeting, Abramovich, an oligarch with links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, met with Ukrainian negotiators to discuss ways to restart discussions.

Roman Abramovich has acted as an unofficial mediator between the two nations and has attended prior rounds of negotiations—though it was widely rumored in early March that the billionaire was poisoned during meetings.

Since the latest round of in-person discussions between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul last month, which Abramovich attended, little progress has been achieved. Zelensky stated earlier this month that the horrors revealed in Kyiv’s outskirts would make it “very difficult” to speak. Putin declared Tuesday’s negotiations with Kyiv a “dead end” and said that Russia’s “military operation” would continue until it was completed completely. Moscow has stepped down its onslaught in recent weeks, withdrawing soldiers from the Kyiv region and refocusing its efforts on regaining territory in the Donbas region, where it has backed pro-Russian separatist governments in combat that has raged since 2014.

On Wednesday, the Channel Island of Jersey, which lies between England and France, froze more than $7 billion in assets believed to be linked to Abramovich. Additionally, the United Kingdom’s authorities froze up to $13 billion in assets belonging to two of Abramovich’s long-standing business acquaintances, Eugene Tenenbaum and David Davidovich. Tenenbaum serves on the board of directors of Chelsea F.C., Abramovich’s soccer team, which he sought to sell before being sanctioned by the United Kingdom.