Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club after he was sanctioned by the British Government due to the invasion.

A consortium led by American business tycoon Todd Boehly then took over as owners in May last year after completing a deal that was thought to be worth £4.25 billion ($5.20 billion/€4.76 billion).

Abramovich is said to have agreed that the £2.3 billion should be used for "all victims of the war in Ukraine" through a charitable foundation he was to create but he is not involved in the distribution process.

The funds remain frozen largely because the EU has insisted that the money be spent in Ukraine directly, rather than on all those impacted by the war, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The UK Government is said to now be in agreement that the money should be spent inside Ukraine only, despite this not being part of the initial agreement for the money.

According to the newspaper, the foundation, set-up by the former chief executive of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, Mike Penrose, has been ready to apply for the funding since the end of last year.

The EU became involved in the process when Abramovich produced a Portuguese passport. 

Abramovich owned Chelsea for 19 years and oversaw huge periods of success.

His departure came after he was accused of having "clear connections" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.