Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and two Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered signs of poisoning, including red eyes, painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands after a meeting earlier in March in Kyiv, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The meeting took place on March 3, as Abramovich, Ukrainian lawmaker Rustem Umerov, and another Ukrainian peace negotiator all suffered from the suspected poisoning.
Sources close to the situation told The Wall Street Journal that their health has gotten better since the incident at the beginning of the month, and "their lives aren’t in danger."
Umerov tweeted on Monday in response to the reports he was poisoned, saying, "I’m fine. This is my response to all the yellow news spreading around. Please do not trust any unverified information. We have an informational war ongoing as well. Stay safe. Slava Ukraini!"
The Wall Street Journal added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with Abramovich in the past during peace negotiations, but was not affected during this suspected incident.
Abramovich is reported to have close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been involved in peace negotiations since the invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24.
Abramovich had been the owner of the Premier League team Chelsea FC since 2003, until he announced on March 2 that he intended to sell the team.
He was later one of seven Russian oligarchs to be placed under financial sanctions by the United Kingdom on March 10, freezing his assets, and was then disqualified as director of the club by the Premier League on March 12, according to ESPN. His net worth is estimated to be around $7.9 billion, according to Forbes.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday on the TV channel Ukrayina 24 that people attending any future peace negotiation meetings must be careful. While Russia has denied that they had anything to do with the suspected poisoning.
"I advise anyone going for negotiations with Russia not to eat or drink anything, preferably avoid touching surfaces," Kuleba said, according to The Washington Post.
Related
Related
