The Russian oligarch personally accompanied the ten prisoners, including British and Americans captured by Vladimir Putin’s troops on the private jet that took them to Riyadh
Hours before the night between Wednesday and Thursday, when the exchange of prisoners took place in the Chernihiv region, north of Kiev, which borders Russia and Belarus, a jet took off from an unspecified Russian location bound for Saudi Arabia. . On board were traveling ten foreign volunteers enrolled in the Ukrainian International Defense Legion who had been captured by the Russians. They were part of the 215 fighters (108 from Azov and 124 soldiers from different corps including many defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol), which Moscow returned to Kiev in exchange 55 Russian soldiers and the self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, together with the oligarch Victor Medvedchuk. The private jet in question belonged to Roman Abramovich. The Russian oligarch, with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and an important Ukrainian negotiator were the three characters who played a key role in months of talks in preparation for the exchange resulting from an even broader agreement involving the Turkey, Ukrainian and Saudi officials and other related profiles. Abramovich personally accompanied the ten prisoners, including British and Americans captured by Vladimir Putin’s troops in Ukraine, on the private jet that took them to Riyadh earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal explains. The unusual cast of characters involved in the deal shows how Ukraine is moving beyond its traditional relationships to secure diplomatic cover just as Kiev’s forces are cashing in on the battlefield. The former Chelsea owner has acted as a sideline between Russia and Ukraine since the early days of the war, showing up during peace negotiations in Istanbul and helping negotiate a deal in July that unlocked Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports. He also played a central role in the prisoner negotiations, said Rustem Umerov, one of the negotiators of the exchange. “He has facilitated all matters of prisoner-of-war exchange with Russian officials, particularly in relations with agencies and ministries, and contributed to their release effort,” explained Umerov, who is also President Volodymyr’s special envoy. Zelensky. Abramovich played a behind-the-scenes role with Russia, leveraging his personal relationship with both Putin and the crown prince. The Russian oligarch visited Saudi Arabia in August and met with Bin Salman. Among the foreigners were three volunteers, two British and one Moroccan, who had been sentenced to death in June by a court controlled by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine after being captured in Mariupol. Another British citizen died in custody. Among the other freed prisoners were two Alabama men, Andy Huynh and Alex Drueke, US military veterans who joined the Ukrainian military in the battle against Russia, according to Robert Aderholt, Republican deputy of the United States. Alabama.
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