Roman Abramovich’s name has been in the news a lot recently. The oligarch and owner of Chelsea Football Club has been sanctioned by the British government over the last few weeks due to his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin’s close confidants have been punished by numerous governments across the continent following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
Abramovich has denied any wrongdoing in the situation, yet he’s taken a step back and decided to sell the Blues in order to prevent any distractions at the club. The Russian owner is being vilified by countless people across the United Kingdom, despite his incredible humanitarian efforts at Chelsea over the last two decades. Abramovich doubled down on his denial of wrongdoing at the beginning of this month when he took part in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in the war-torn country. Abramovich was called in by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to broker the discussions. During his time in Kyiv, Abramovich was one of a few people who suffered from symptoms of a poison attack, according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich reportedly poisoned during peace talks
Before diving any further into the situation, it needs to be said that the Chelsea owner is OK now. He and numerous Ukrainian representatives have thankfully made full recoveries since the attack was carried out. They suffered from symptoms of a chemical poison attack after returning to their hotels on the night of March 3. The victims reportedly suffered from red eyes, sharp pain and peeling of the skin on their faces and hands. The symptoms subsided by the end of that week.
It is unclear at this point how the attack was carried out, but the investigative team at Bellingcat believes the injuries are consistent with those of chemical poisoning. Luckily for all involved, the injuries that each individual suffered were considered non-life threatening. It is believed that pro-war Russians were behind the attacks as they used the poisoning to send a message, rather than do too much harm. A lot of people in Russia have been outspoken about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, unfortunately that does not mean that there aren’t those in favor of war.
Peace has not yet been brokered between the two sides. However, the 55-year-old remains a key player as Zelenskyy has asked numerous countries to refrain from sanctioning him due to the good he’s done thus far. Abramovich has spent time over the last few weeks flying back and forth between Istanbul, Kyiv and Moscow, where he meets with each side individually.
All of this comes at a time where Abramovich’s advisers in England scramble to sell Chelsea before the club goes under due to government sanctions. The Blues have not been able to operate on a regular day-to-day basis for a few weeks as the British government looks to limit Abramovich’s influence at this point in time. The Raine Group—the New York-based company tasked with overseeing the club’s sale—has narrowed down its shortlist to four bidders. The club is expected to be sold by the end of April. This will officially mark the end of the Abramovich era in west London, which has spanned nearly two decades.
All of us at The Pride of London would like to extend our best wishes to Abramovich as he continues to recover following this heinous attack.