Putin was handed a note from Zelenskyy seeking peace by Roman Abramovich, but replied 'tell him I will thrash them,' report says

The Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Getty/Peter Macdiarmid

• Abramovich gave Putin a note from Zelenskyy outlining how the war could end, The Times of London reported.
• But Putin reacted to the handwritten note by saying: "Tell him I will thrash them," the report said.
• Abramovich has been taking part in peace talks. Those talks have made little progress so far.

The Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich handed Russian President Vladimir Putin a handwritten note from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking peace, but Putin rejected it, The Times of London reported.

Abramovich met with Putin in Moscow earlier this month, where he was handed the note from Zelenskyy to give to Putin, The Times reported. Abramovich has been involved in the peace talks, and Zelenskyy said that Abramovich had been trying to help. 

According to the report, the note laid out the terms that Zelenskyy would accept to end the war, which started when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

But Putin was not convinced, saying: "Tell him I will thrash them," The Times reported.

On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators experienced symptoms consistent with a poisoning attack earlier in March.

The investigative news outlet Bellingcat then reported that it could "confirm that three members of the delegation attending the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on the night of 3 to 4 March 2022 experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons."

Abramovich was seen in Istanbul, Turkey, for the latest round of peace talks on Tuesday.

Representatives for both countries have met multiple times since the start of the war, but have made little progress.

Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russian businessmen were offering help to Ukraine as they were keen to avoid Western sanctions over the invasion.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Zelenskyy asked the US not to sanction Abramovich because he could be helpful in peace talks, and the US Treasury then stopped plans to do so.

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