Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says Russian magnate Abramovich came to Kyiv with offer of help
June 7 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russian boss Roman Abramovich met him in Kiev and offered to deliver a message to the Kremlin about peace hopes, but the Ukrainian leader reiterated that his government “will not abandon the Donbas region.”
Zelenskiy’s comments to Sky News during talks in London marked the first time the billionaire had acknowledged that he had traveled to the Ukrainian capital and participated in the talks to some extent.
“He came to Kiev. He said, ‘I’m messaging you directly. I also want to take a message from you and give it to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.’ But he said he had to remain silent without any public message.” he said.
Zelenskiy said the meeting was “not a secret” and added that Russians wanted to know what Kiev was “ready to do”.
“I said the problem is not about us. You are fighting against us on our territory. I told him about Donbas and that was the main message. I said we will not leave and we will not leave our territory. No, we will not give you a victory like that. And you will not get it.”
Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club, is subject to sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He played a key role in failed negotiations to end hostilities in the first weeks of the occupation and an agreement to ensure grain shipments across the Black Sea, but has since become less visible.
Putin has made it clear that Russia is not ready to stop the war in Ukraine until it leaves the Donbas region, which consists of Kiev, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ukrainian forces hold about a fifth of Donetsk, and Zelenskiy has said he will not abandon it and its tens of thousands of Ukrainians.
Zelenskiy once again rejected the possibility of any meeting with Putin in Russia or Belarus.
He said that he would accept a cessation of hostilities on the current front lines as the fastest way to continue talks, but that this did not mean giving up territory.
“Yes. This is the fastest way,” Zelenskiy said. “(But) we want to stop the war in a way that the war doesn’t come back. The idea is not just to freeze (the conflict), but the quickest way is to freeze (it) and move it to a diplomatic environment.”
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Paul Simao)
