Do you remember Roman Abramovich’s much-vaunted role as peacebroker between Ukraine and Russia? A full 11 days ago in Russia’s repulsive war of choice on Ukraine, the erstwhile Chelsea owner was reported to be engineering some kind of impeccably connected end to hostilities. Can I shock you? This has turned out to be cobblers.
And yet, it was dutifully parroted to the world’s media by Chelsea Football Club’s spokesperson, Rola Brentlin. “I can confirm that Roman Abramovich was contacted by the Ukrainian side for support in achieving a peaceful resolution,” she announced, “and that he has been trying to help ever since.” Well done, Rola! This story made headlines around the globe for precisely one calendar day, and we haven’t heard a single word of it since. Unfathomably, Abramovich has been seen nowhere near the negotiating table, and it seems more likely that far from being engaged in “trying to help ever since”, the oligarch has spent most waking hours trying to shift his various UK assets before those nice pre-warners of the British government finally got around to freezing them on Thursday. The government claims his more measurable part in the war effort is owning 29% of a firm that may have supplied steel for Russian tanks. The firm denies it.
