Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that he met with Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club, in Kyiv. According to Zelenskyy, Abramovich traveled to the Ukrainian capital on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate backchannel communication regarding peace negotiations.
Details of the Meeting
In an interview with Sky News, Zelenskyy stated that Abramovich arrived in Kyiv with a proposal to act as an intermediary. “He came to Kyiv. He said ‘I am messaging direct to you. And I want to take a message from you and give it to Putin.’ But he said it has to be silent without any kind of public messages,” Zelenskyy recounted. The Ukrainian leader emphasized that his message to Putin was clear: “You are fighting against us on our territory. We will not leave and we will not go out from our territory, no we will not give you victory.” He also reiterated his longstanding request for a face-to-face meeting with Putin.
Zelenskyy described the meeting as “not a secret,” noting that the Russians were eager to understand what Kyiv was “ready to do” to end the conflict. Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government, which accused him of having “clear connections” to Putin’s regime. The billionaire has not commented publicly on the Kyiv meeting, though he previously played a role in early, unsuccessful peace negotiations following the invasion.
Current State of the War
Putin has made it clear that Russia will not cease hostilities until Ukraine abandons the Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy met with the leaders of the UK, France, and Germany in London on Sunday. The leaders discussed the “urgent need” to boost production of weapons to counter Russia’s hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missiles. A joint statement emphasized scaling up interceptor production and co-developing anti-ballistic missile and deep strike capabilities, though no financial details were provided.
Ukraine faces a critical shortage of air defense systems, partly due to depleted US stocks during the Iran war. This leaves civilians vulnerable to ballistic missiles, even as Kyiv’s defenses intercept most drones and its forces make gains elsewhere. Over the weekend, a Russian drone struck a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel near the Chornobyl power plant. Although the structure was empty, the attack appeared to be a deliberate message from Moscow amid an intensifying aerial campaign.
Recent Attacks and Regional Impact
Russia launched waves of drones and munitions on Sunday, killing at least five people. In the Zaporizhzhia region, a public transport stop was bombed, killing two, and a drone strike killed a 56-year-old minibus driver. In Dnipro, a 59-year-old man died in a separate attack. Russia’s defense ministry claimed its air defenses downed 500 Ukrainian drones in 24 hours, according to Interfax.
Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu, stated that the war in Ukraine underscores her country’s urgent need for high-tech interceptor drones and new legislation to facilitate their production. Moldova, seeking EU membership by 2030, has faced numerous incidents of Russian drones over its territory or debris near the border. Sandu, a vocal critic of Russia’s invasion, expressed concern over a drone strike last month that hit a residence in Galati, Romania, near the Moldova-Ukraine border, injuring two people.
