Europe

Home page

Europe

Sources close to Abramovich confirm suspected poisoning-UPDATED

28 March 2022 21:33 (UTC +04:00)

Sources close to Roman Abramovich have confirmed the Russian oligarch was suspected to have been poisoned earlier this month after meeting to discuss peace talks with Ukrainian negotiators, APA reports citing BBC.

They would not confirm who else was targeted or what the source of the attack was.

Earlier, a report from the Wall Street Journal claimed three people who attended negotiations in Kyiv had experienced red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands.

Abramovich is said to be ok now as the incident happened several weeks ago, and he will continue with negotiations alongside those from Ukraine in an attempt to end the war.

Those close to Abramovich say he has been involved in several meetings, and is only working on behalf of himself after it was claimed he was asked to help.

***21:04

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning after meeting to discuss peace negotiations earlier this month, several news sources report, APA reports citing BBC.

Abramovich, along with another Russian entrepreneur, had taken part in the negotiations alongside Crimean Tatar lawmaker Rustem Umerov.

Three people who attended the meeting in Kyiv from 3 to 4 March felt initial symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons, it has been reported.

The Wall Street Journal reported that they had experienced red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands - however, they were said to have since improved, with their lives not in danger.

People familiar with the matter blamed the suspected attack on hardliners in Moscow who they said wanted to sabotage talks to end the war.

A person close to Abramovich said it wasn't clear who had targeted the group and western experts who looked into the incident said it was hard to determine whether the symptoms were caused by a chemical or biological agent or by some sort of electromagnetic-radiation attack.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has met with Abramovich, wasn't affected.

Abramovich was among seven oligarchs sanctioned by the UK government earlier in March in response to the Ukraine war.