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

• 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, which have made little progress.

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 on Monday.

Abramovich met with Putin earlier this month in Moscow, where he was handed the note from Zelenskyy to give to Putin, The Times reported. Zelenskyy said Abramovich, who has been involved in the peace talks, 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 had experienced symptoms consistent with a poisoning attack earlier in March.

The investigative news outlet Bellingcat then tweeted 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 Russia and Ukraine 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 Journal reported last week that Zelenskyy had asked the US not to sanction Abramovich because he could be helpful in peace talks and that the US Treasury then stopped plans to do so.

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