Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich played an important role in developing an unofficial plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine in January 2023, Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko has claimed. His October 26 statement followed a Financial Times investigation into private contacts between intermediaries from Moscow and Washington.
As Agentstvo reported, Goncharenko claimed that the proposal envisaged restoring the line of contact approximately to its position on February 24, 2022, leaving Russia in de facto control of Crimea without Ukraine legally recognizing its annexation, and discussing a land corridor to the peninsula. The proposed terms were not formally adopted by Russia, Ukraine or the United States.
The other alleged provisions he listed included ceasefire guarantees by NATO countries, the opening of Russian–American security talks and the use of frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine.
According to Goncharenko, Russia was prepared to return the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and Melitopol to Ukraine, but not Tokmak. His statement did not make clear how that arrangement would be reconciled with the proposed land corridor to Crimea.
The lawmaker also claimed that Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the proposed plan. The Financial Times had previously reported that a group of intermediaries prepared the informal proposal and that the U.S. administration had not authorized the relevant channel of talks.