LONDON: Sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning earlier this month after a meeting in Kyiv.
Abramovich, who accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and at least two senior members of the Ukrainian team, were affected, the Wall Street Journal report said citing people familiar with the matter.
Their symptoms included red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands, the report added. Two Ukrainian peace negotiators were also said to have been affected. Abramovich and the Ukrainian negotiators, including Crimean Tatar lawmaker Rustem Umerov, have since improved and their lives are not in danger.
The Kremlin has said Abramovich played an early role in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine but the process was now in the hands of the two sides’ negotiating teams. Abramovich travelled between Moscow and Kyiv for several rounds of talks at the start of the month.
The Russian billionaire reportedly met President Volodymyr Zelensky during the trip, but the Ukrainian leader was not affected and his spokesman had no information about the incident.
The investigative journalism group Bellingcat said Abramovich and the negotiators suffered symptoms “consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons”. The symptoms included “eye and skin inflammation and piercing pain in the eyes” it said. The businessman has since been seen in public, being pictured at Israel’s Tel Aviv airport on 14 March.
