Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea FC, reportedly suffered symptoms of poisoning while attending peace negotiations over Ukraine.
In addition to the Russian billionaire two other people who attended the talks also suffered from the alleged poisoning, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Roman Abramovich Was Allegedly Poisoned in Kyiv by Russians.
Abromovich and two others suffered skin peeling and sore eyes, evidence of poisoning that was likely carried out by Russian actors.
The incident was likely orchestrated by hardliners in Russia who wanted to sabotage the talks, WSJ reports.
The condition of the Russian billionaire and the Ukrainian negotiators, who include Ukrainian MP Rustem Umerov, has improved since the incident reportedly occurred on March 3, WSJ reports.
A source close to the football club owner told the BBC that he had suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning. They shared that he had now recovered and was continuing with negotiations to try and end the war in Ukraine.
Abramovich traveled between Moscow and Kyiv for numerous rounds of talks at the start of March, including a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky during the trip. However, the Ukrainian leader was not affected by the poisoning and his spokesman had no information about the incident, BBC reports.
The investigative journalism outfit Bellingcat said Abramovich and the negotiators suffered symptoms “consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons”.
Bellingcat reported that symptoms included “eye and skin inflammation and piercing pain in the eyes.”
Since the incident occurred the billionaire has been spotted in public, including a sighting of him at Tel Aviv Airport in Israel on March 14.
A spokesman for Abramovich previously stated he was playing a “limited” role in trying to find a “peaceful resolution” between Ukraine and Russia.
Earlier this month, the oligarch was sanctioned by the UK government for his alleged ties to Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what Putin called a “special military operation” to demilitarize Ukraine. Ukraine and Western allies claim Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.
The Kremlin said that Abramovich played an early role in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine but the process was now in the hands of the two countries’ negotiating teams. The two sides are due to meet in Istanbul on Tuesday for the first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks.
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While Abramovich seems to be on the mend, it’s chilling to think that more poisonings are possible as peace negotiations continue between all interested parties.
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