As hundreds of Ukrainians faced the threat of annihilation at the besieged Azovstal plant, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich said in April that “he had achieved a possible breakthrough.”. The billionaire told Ukrainian authorities he met with dictator Vladimir Putin in mid-April and "

But when Ukrainian officials asked for details on how to proceed, Moscow remained silent.. Russia continued to bomb the Azovstal plant non-stop until the UN and the Red Cross secured a separate commitment from Putin to allow the evacuation of some civilians this week, newspaper sources said.. Abramovich did not participate in these discussions, they added, noting that the oligarch offered no explanation for the collapse of the proposed deal..

Abramovich, who made his fortune in Russian oil and owns the English football club Chelsea, has been acting as an intermediary between the Kremlin and Bankova for the third month, The Washington Post notes..

According to US officials and experts, this arrangement so far works better for Abramovich than for the people of Ukraine.. Peace talks stalled amid continued attacks and growing evidence of Russian atrocities. Abramovich's involvement in the talks protected him from a flurry of US sanctions against the Russian elite, sources say.

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Ukrainian officials have described their interactions with him in more measured terms, saying they are cautious and not too trusting of an oligarch with such Kremlin connections, while acknowledging that he is the only interlocutor who appears to have a direct connection to Putin..

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Posing as a black-channel diplomat, Abramovich went further than other Russian oligarchs in using political connections and soliciting favors to protect a financial empire that had suffered extensive damage from the war.. This is a gamble that ultimately risks turning into a failure by exposing his ties to Putin.. Abramovich previously strongly denied these connections..

Abramovich has garnered support, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who US officials and others with knowledge of the matter say pressured President Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to refrain from imposing sanctions on Abramovich while he serves as a conduit.

Biden agreed to grant Abramovich a reprieve following Zelenskiy's request that seemed almost unintentional, sources said.

One of Abramovich's aides said Zelensky had also asked Johnson to refrain from imposing sanctions on the oligarch, but Abramovich's reputation in the UK and political pressure on Johnson made such a move untenable.. In March, British sanctions were imposed against Abramovich..