Roman Abramovich was saved from US sanctions thanks to the intervention of Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ukraine’s President Joe Biden has actually asked to hold off on sanctions because the oligarch could play a role in facilitating peace talks with Russia.
On March 9, London updated the list of Russian oligarchs, including Abramovich. Like US Treasury officials, who also drafted sanctions earlier this month to punish the oligarch. However, at the time of their announcement, the National Security Council had urged the Treasury Department to wait. And now I know the reasons. Abramovich is not the only oligarch who has spoken out against the war, but he is certainly the only one who has said publicly that he is trying to press Moscow towards a peaceful solution to the conflict.
US sanctions aside, while Abramovich can no longer manage Chelsea as the UK government intervened and granted the Blues a dispensation until May 31, Abramovich has decided to save his two megayachts from eventual future seizures to ship them in a Resort in Marmaris and in Bodrum, Turkey. In the first port is the Eclipse, which is worth almost 1.2 billion euros (and has its own missile defense); however, in the second, My Solaris docked on Monday March 21, prompting protests by some Ukrainian seafarers in Turkey to compete in a prewar competition. Turkey’s choice can be explained by the fact that the country is not part of the EU and the Ankara government has not complied with the sanctions against Russia.