The Wall Street Journal picked up on a report from Dutch based Bellingcat which details how Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, thought to be a close confidant of Vladimir Putin, as well as at least two Ukrainian negotiators fell ill with symptoms of poisoning on the night of March 3, directly after holding peace negotiations.
Reports are circulating that peace negotiators attempting to diffuse the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine were fed poison earlier this month as a way of getting them to stop their efforts to bring about peace.Bellingcat can confirm that three members of the delegation attending the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on the night of 3 to 4 March 2022 experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons. One of victims was Russian entrepreneur Roman Abramovich. https://t.co/DJaZ4CoL8J
— Bellingcat (@bellingcat) March 28, 2022
The Wall Street Journal picked up on a report from Dutch based Bellingcat which details how Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, thought to be a close confidant of Vladimir Putin, as well as at least two Ukrainian negotiators fell ill with symptoms of poisoning on the night of March 3, directly after holding peace negotiations.
It is suggested that poison was placed into chocolate and left the victims temporarily blind and shedding skin, but the dosage was so low that it wasn’t intended to kill them.
It is not known what substance was used as a poison, but the intimation is that Russian hardliners intent on continuing the conflict are to blame.
Speaking about the alleged incident, Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev said of Abramovich “he volunteered to play… this role of (an) honest broker, but other oligarchs had… declared certain independence from the Kremlin position and criticise(d) the war.”
“So it could well be seen as a warning sign to them to not join the ranks of those who dissent, and to not be too much of an honest broker,” Grozev added.
U.S. intelligence has responded to the revelations, suggesting that it doubts the story is true and that the symptoms experienced by Abramovich and the others were likely environmental.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak, who is also involved in the peace negotiations told Reuters “there is a lot of speculation, various conspiracy theories,” and Rustem Umerov, a negotiator apparently affected declared that he is fine and that people should not trust “unverified information”.
The Kremlin has said that the reports are untrue and part of the ongoing “information warfare”.
Abramovich himself has not commented on the reports.
The negotiations continue in Turkey, however those involved have been warned not to eat or drink anything offered to them.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warned “I advise anyone going for negotiations with Russia not to eat or drink any thing, (and) preferably avoid touching surfaces.”
(...) Summit News
