The Russian, 55, welcomed John Harding, Shaun Pinner, Aiden Aslin, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill on a jet that was flying them from Russia to Saudi Arabia. He gave each of the men iPhones so they could call their families and even talked soccer with the men while they ate steaks on the flight to Riyadh. Mr Harding, a British army veteran, said he had not recognized the Russian billionaire on the plane until Pinner, a West Ham fan, pointed him out. Mr Harding told the Sun: “Sean said: ‘You really look like Roman Abramovich’ and he replied: ‘That’s because I’m him, sir.’ He couldn’t believe it. “I joked that Shaun is a West Ham fan and we all laughed.”
“We couldn’t thank him enough”
The 59-year-old father-of-two, who was captured in May, said he sat next to Mr Abramovich’s assistant on the flight, who had explained how he had helped free them. “He said Roman played a key role in our comeback,” Mr Harding said. “It’s very unusual to think he was involved — and I couldn’t even tell you who it was by looking at him. “He’s well respected by Ukrainians and a lot of us now – he’s done a lot for us and we couldn’t thank him enough. “He was a good man, a really great guy. He’s a legend — we absolutely love him and I’m so grateful for his efforts.” Mr Abramovich played the role of mediator during the war, helping to organize peace talks in Istanbul in April. In June, a Ukrainian official said he helped negotiate humanitarian corridors out of Mariupol and other cities besieged by Moscow’s military.
Harding “one of Britain’s best representatives”
Mr Harding was hailed as “one of the best representatives of his nation” by his Ukrainian commander.
