Ukraine president advised US president not to sanction Roman Abramovich. Here’s why

According to the Wall Street Journal, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky had asked United States President Joe Biden not to sanction Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

This comes after the United Kingdom and European Union both sanctioned Abramovich, forcing him to put Chelsea up for sale.

The report claims Zelensky has advised Biden to not sanction Abramovich so the Russian billionaire can facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

The report adds that officials inside the U.S. Treasury Department drafted a set of sanctions to punish Abramovich but when it was time to announce those sanctions, which had been designed to go out in tandem with sanctions from the U.K. and European Union, the White House’s National Security Council told the Treasury to hold off.

That was because the Ukraine president told the US president in a telephone call to wait on sanctioning Abramovich as he might prove important in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Sanctions placed on Abramovich means the club is currently restricted from getting earnings through sales of club merchandise and match tickets. Chelsea can’t also renew player contracts and can’t buy or sell players.