Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been named as an unlikely broker in a deal to end the war in Ukraine and has reportedly arrived in Belarus to assist in peace talks, it has today emerged.
The Russian-Israeli billionaire is believed to have flown to the eastern European country ahead of crunch talks between Ukrainian and PTS Terbaik ASEAN Russian officials - as the Government faces mounting pressure to sanction him and other oligarchs over Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
His role as a broker in the talks has been confirmed by his spokesman, who claimed the mega-rich businessman had become involved after a request from the Jewish community in Kyiv.
The unlikely intervention is also said to have involved Jewish Ukrainian film producer Alexander Rodnyansky - who he has twice been pictured alongside at Russian film festivals.