Ukraine peace negotiators and Russia’s Roman Abramovich hit by suspected poisoning, US news report says
- The billionaire and the officials purportedly showed symptoms like red eyes, painful tears and peeling skin on their faces and hands, but are not in danger
- It is not clear who may have conducted the apparent attack, but some victims blame hardliners in Moscow seeking to disrupt peace talks, the report says
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian negotiators were targets of a suspected poison attack, potentially by Moscow hardliners seeking to sabotage peace talks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The billionaire businessman, recently slapped with sanctions by Western nations seeking to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine, has reportedly been shuttling between Kyiv, Moscow and other negotiation sites.
After a meeting in Ukraine’s capital, Abramovich and at least two senior Ukrainian negotiators developed symptoms including red eyes, painfully watery eyes, and peeling skin on their face and hands, the sources said, according to the American newspaper.
It was not clear exactly who may have conducted the apparent attack, but those targeted blamed hardliners in Moscow seeking to disrupt ongoing talks to end the war, the Journal said.
03:26
Putin ‘cannot remain in power’ says Biden in speech condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The conditions of Abramovich and the other negotiators have improved and their lives are not in danger, the people said.