Earlier this month, U.S. Treasury Department officials issued a set of sanctions to punish Roman Abramovich, a prominent Russian oligarch, following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, say people familiar with the plans.
When it came time to announce these sanctions, which were designed to go hand in hand with sanctions from Britain and the EU, the White House’s National Security Council asked the Treasury to persevere. The reason: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky advised President Biden in a recent phone call to wait to sanction the oligarch, who may prove important as an intermediary with Russia in helping negotiate peace, according to people familiar with the call.