Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who owns the Premier League football club Chelsea, has accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
“I can confirm Roman Abramovich was contacted by the Ukrainian side for support in achieving a peaceful resolution, and that he has been trying to help ever since,” an Abramovich spokesperson said. “Considering what is at stake, we would ask for understanding as to why we have not commented on either the situation as such or his involvement.”
There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian government.
Jewish and of Israeli citizenship, Abramovich was one of the most powerful businessmen who earned fortunes after the 1991 dissolving of the Soviet Union; his net worth is ranked at $13.3 billion. A commodities trader who thrived in the chaos of the 1990s under then-President Boris Yeltsin, Abramovich acquired stakes in the Sibneft oil company, Rusal aluminum producer and Aeroflot that were later sold.
Under Russian President Vladimir Putin, Abramovich, 55, served as governor of the Arctic region of Chukotka in the country’s Far East.
It’s unclear what role he will have in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials, which began on Monday at the Belarusian border. The Ukrainian president’s office said his country’s goal was an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of troops. The Kremlin has not said what its objectives are in the talks.
Recently, two other Russian billionaires, Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska, have called for an end to the war.
Putin used an early-morning address to the nation on February 24 to order “a special military operation” against Ukraine just a few days after recognizing two Russian-backed rebel regions of Ukraine.
Putin said he was ordering the military operation to protect people, including Russian citizens, from “genocide”—an accusation the opposition insists is baseless propaganda.
