AB GhaylaneLondon: Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, owner of English soccer giant Chelsea, is believed to have survived a suspected poisoning attempt while participating in peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
The billionaire and two Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning following a meeting they attended in Kiev in early March as part of an effort to forge a deal between Ukraine and Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Roman Abramovich, who was sanctioned by Britain and the European Union this month, reportedly showed symptoms such as peeling skin on his face and hands, and red, teary eyes. Sources close to him told the media that he lost his sight for several hours.
Bellingcat, the open source intelligence group, said it investigated the apparent poisoning and suggested that chemical weapons may have been used, possibly contained in chocolate or water.
He was treated in Turkey and has since recovered from his symptoms. A person close to Abramovich told the newspaper that it was unclear who was behind the poisoning.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the attack is believed to be the work of hardliners in Moscow who want to sabotage talks to end the war.
“Unverified information.”
While Ukrainian officials threw cold water on the report, the Financial Times quoted a person close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying, “People became totally blind… the next day. We haven’t identified the substance. We have no idea who was behind [the attack] – but it seems that Roman was the main target.”
Citing intelligence, a U.S. official blamed an “environmental” reason for Abramovich’s and the negotiators’ disgust, “e.g. not poisoning.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity and did not give further details.
Ukrainian MP Rustem Umerov, one of the other men who showed symptoms of poisoning, wrote on Facebook that he was “fine” and called on people not to rely on “unverified information.”
Earlier this month, Zelensky reportedly asked U.S. President Joe Biden not to impose sanctions on Abramovich, believing that the Russian oligarch could be an important intermediary in the negotiations.
The U.S. Treasury Department was about to announce the freezing of Abramovich’s assets after the United Kingdom and the European Union, when the White House’s national security council suddenly intervened.
The alleged incident took place on March 3, and at least two Ukrainians participating in the peace talks also suffered symptoms. The attack that was “not intended to kill” and was “just a warning,” the WSJ reported.
According to Bellingcat, Abramovich and another Russian contractor were involved in the negotiations until about 10 p.m. His symptoms reportedly appeared later that evening in a Kiev apartment, and subsided in the morning. They reportedly ate only chocolate and drank water in the hours before the illness began.
Billionaire Roman Abramovich was among the delegates who showed symptoms of suspected chemical poisoning.
A security expert told Bellingcat that the symptoms could be the result of attempted poisoning with a chemical weapon, or less likely caused by microwave radiation.
Bellingcat has a history of investigating Russian activity and previously concluded that a Kremlin team poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent in 2020.
In 2018, Russian agents in Britain also used a nerve agent in a failed assassination plot against a KGB defector officer, Sergei Skripal, killing a British citizen in Salisbury.
Abramovich met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Wednesday in Moscow, presenting him with a handwritten note from Zelensky outlining the terms Ukraine would consider accepting to end the month-long war. Putin’s first response was reportedly unequivocal: “Tell him I will crush them.”
Abramovich put Chelsea FC up for sale days after Putin invaded Ukraine on February 25, saying he would not demand repayment of his £1.5 billion loan to the club. He promised to donate all net proceeds to victims of the war in Ukraine.
The British government claimed this month that Abramovich, 55, had benefited financially from his “close relationship” with Putin for decades, with his oil and steel empires earning him more than 9.4 billion pounds ($16.4 billion). He has vehemently disputed reports suggesting his alleged closeness to Putin and the Kremlin or that he has done anything to merit sanctions against him.
The British government said at the time that he was, or had been, involved in “destabilizing Ukraine” and weakening or threatening its independence through Evraz PLC, a steel manufacturing and mining company.
Abramovich’s UK assets include a £150 million Kensington townhouse and another £22 million house overlooking the Thames in London, as well as yachts, private jets and supercars worth more than £1 billion spread around the world.
The superyacht Solaris, owned by Roman Abramovich, off the coast of Montenegro.
Upon announcing the Russian businessman’s total asset freeze and travel ban on March 10, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said he had “the blood of the Ukrainian people… on his hands.”
Abramovich’s daughter Sofia, a 27-year-old influencer, shared an anti-Putin image on her social media earlier this month, saying, “The biggest and most successful lie of the Kremlin’s propaganda is that most Russians stand with Putin.”
Last week, it was reported that Putin had approved Abramovich’s participation in the peace talks. He had traveled between Moscow, Lviv and elsewhere for the talks and had met with Zelensky as part of the talks.
On Monday, Zelensky said that progress was being made in the peace talks that have resumed between officials in Turkey.
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