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UK gives Abramovich last chance to give Chelsea sale proceeds to victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine

LONDON (AP) — Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has been given a final chance to turn over the 2.5 billion pounds ($3.25 billion) that he promised to give victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine from the sale of Premier League club Chelsea, the British government said Wednesday.

Abramovich was forced to sell the club after being sanctioned by the U.K. for his connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin, following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Before the sale in 2022, Abramovich said that he would set up a war victims’ charity, but hasn’t followed through.

“The clock is ticking on Roman Abramovich to honor the commitment he made when Chelsea FC was sold,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “This government is prepared to enforce it through the courts, so that every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin’s illegal war.”

Abramovich couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

The funds are frozen, but still belong to Abramovich, and negotiations have failed to reach an agreement on their release.

Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003, sold the club to a consortium fronted by Americans Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. Chelsea won the Champions League twice and the Premier League five times — among other titles — during Abramovich’s time as owner.

Ukraine’s drone strikes set a gloomy tone for Putin’s economic showcase

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — A massive black cloud rising above the St. Petersburg skyline from a Ukrainian drone strike set a gloomy tone for the opening of President Vladimir Putin's annual showcase of Russia's economic achievements. With Putin set to arrive Thursday in his hometown that is hosting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Ukrainian attack a day earlier that set an oil terminal ablaze was another embarrassing blow to his efforts to minimize the impact of the 4-year-old conflict and cast it as a distant event with no effect on Russian daily life. The attack, which also targeted a naval base near Russia's second-largest city on the Gulf of Finland, underlined Ukraine’s growing capability to hit deep inside its neighbor and demonstrated that even the heavily protected city where Putin was born is increasingly vulnerable. Scores of flights were delayed or diverted at St. Petersburg’s airport and authorities cut cellphone internet service to try to prevent drone attacks.
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