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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that he met Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in Kyiv in May in an effort to send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking in an interview with Sky News, Zelenskyy revealed details of the conversation, UATV English informs.
“He came to Kyiv. He said: ‘I brought a message directly to you, and I would like to take a message from you to pass on to Putin,'” Zelenskyy said.
According to the Ukrainian president, Abramovich requested that the meeting remain confidential and receive no publicity.
“But he said that it should be done quietly, without any publicity. I replied: ‘That is your choice — it does not matter to us,'” Zelenskyy recounted.
The president added that Abramovich’s visit was “not a secret” and that the businessman wanted to understand “what we were prepared to do” regarding potential peace negotiations.
However, Zelenskyy emphasized that he made Ukraine’s position clear and ruled out any territorial concessions in the Donbas region.
“That was the key message. I told him that we would not do that. We will not hand you victory in this way,” Zelenskyy said.
Asked whether Abramovich now serves as an intermediary between him and Putin, Zelenskyy replied:
“When he received my message, he said he would go directly to Putin.”
On June 5, Putin himself stated during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that the Russian businessman had traveled to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy.
On June 7, the Financial Times, citing four sources, reported that Abramovich had visited Kyiv in May at Zelenskyy’s invitation. According to the report, the Ukrainian president sought to use Abramovich as a channel to persuade Putin to agree to direct peace negotiations.
