Zelenskyy Confirms Meeting with Former Chelsea Owner, Relays Russia's Concerns on War Termination Conditions

Key news on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

(Central News Agency correspondent Chen Yanting, Kyiv, 9th) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed in an exclusive interview with British media that he met with Russian oligarch and former Premier League Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich in Kyiv at the end of May. He stated that Abramovich conveyed Moscow's interest in understanding Kyiv's conditions for ending the war.

In an interview published by The Guardian on the 8th, Zelenskyy said that when Abramovich visited Kyiv in May, he stated that Russia wanted to know what concessions Ukraine was prepared to make and that he could relay this information to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy reiterated his desire for a leadership meeting with Putin.

Zelenskyy stated that the message he conveyed to Putin through Abramovich was: "You are fighting us on our territory." He emphasized that Ukraine will not leave its land and will not give up victory.

Russia did not deny the meeting. Putin responded that Zelenskyy met with "a representative of our business community" and stressed that this individual does not represent the Russian government. However, this contact did not yield concrete results.

The Guardian report also indicated that during Zelenskyy's visit to the UK, he asked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the progress of handling the funds from Abramovich's 2022 sale of Chelsea Football Club. Abramovich sold the club for 2.4 billion pounds (approximately NT$101.4 billion) that year and pledged to use the funds to help victims of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Starmer stated at the end of 2025 that the British government was ready to transfer the funds through legal procedures for use as humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club, participated in peace talks in the early stages of the Russia-Ukraine war in March 2022. Due to his close ties with the Kremlin, he remains on EU and UK sanctions lists and has not responded to related reports.

According to Ukrainian media Radio NV, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba suggested that Abramovich's willingness to act as an "envoy" might be related to protecting his own assets, but he expressed reservations about such contacts. He believes that under Russia's current power structure, it is difficult for such efforts to have a substantial effect, whether then or now.

However, other analysts pointed out that Abramovich's involvement shows that using informal or special channels for contact might be more effective in promoting peace talks than direct interaction with Russian officials.

On the 4th, Zelenskyy publicly sent a letter to Putin proposing talks to seek an agreement and warning that if negotiations fail to yield results, Kyiv is prepared to continue fighting. Putin refused the meeting, stating that a ceasefire would only allow Ukraine to regroup, and reiterated that Russia's demand for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Donbas region has not yet been addressed. (Editor: Tian Ruihua) 1150610