Abramovich Met Zelenskiy In Kyiv Offering To Relay Message To Putin — Zelenskiy Vows Not To Cede Donbas

June 7 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed that Russian businessman Roman Abramovich traveled to Kyiv and offered to carry a confidential message to the Kremlin about prospects for peace. Zelenskiy said the offer was to relay a private note to President Vladimir Putin but emphasized that any such channel must remain quiet and without public statements.

Meeting Details

Speaking to Sky News while in London, Zelenskiy acknowledged the visit — his first public confirmation that Abramovich had come to Ukraine's capital and played a limited role in talks. The president said the meeting was 'not a secret' and that Russian interlocutors were seeking to understand what Kyiv would be 'ready to do.'

'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 (Russian President Vladimir) Putin'. But he said it has to be silent without any kind of public messages,' Zelenskiy said.

Zelenskiy said he made Kyiv's position clear: the issue is not about concessions by Ukraine but about defending sovereign territory. 'You are fighting against us on our territory,' he said, adding that Donbas was the key point. 'I said we will not leave and we will not go out from our territory. No, we will not give you a victory in such way. And you will not get it.'

Abramovich's Role And Background

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, June 7, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club, is subject to international sanctions imposed on Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He was involved early in the war in talks aimed at ending hostilities and helped broker a Black Sea grain export agreement, but has been far less visible since those initial efforts.

Wider Diplomatic Context

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled that Moscow will not halt its offensive until Kyiv abandons the Donbas region — made up of Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukrainian forces currently hold about one-fifth of the Donetsk region, and Zelenskiy insisted Kyiv will not abandon those areas or the tens of thousands of residents living there.

Zelenskiy also reiterated he would not meet Putin on Russian or Belarusian soil. He said that accepting a halt to fighting along the current front lines would be the quickest way to move discussions to a diplomatic track, but stressed that a pause must not amount to ceding territory: 'Yes. It's the quickest way... we want to stop the war in a way where the war will not come back. It's not the idea just to freeze (the fighting), but the quickest way is to freeze (it) and to move it to a diplomatic setting.'

(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Paul Simao)