UK lawmakers are annoyed that Abramovich’s frozen Chelsea funds still haven’t been used for Ukraine

By EMMA BURROWS
Associated Press

U.K. lawmakers have expressed frustration that funds from the sale of the Chelsea soccer club have not yet gone to support Ukrainian war victims as was promised nearly two years ago by the former owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Abramovich sold Chelsea in 2022 after being sanctioned by the British government for what it called his enabling of Russia’s “brutal” invasion of Ukraine. He pledged to donate the £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) from the sale to victims of the war. But almost 20 months later, the funds are still frozen in an apparent disagreement with the British government over how they should be spent. The impasse highlights the difficulty for Western governments to use frozen assets for Ukraine.