Dusseldorf According to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich started an attempt to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and was apparently poisoned in the process. According to the Journal’s report, both Abramovich and two of the Ukrainian negotiators involved suffered from symptoms of poisoning after the meeting in Kyiv in early March. The Wall Street Journal cites multiple sources for the events. The report has not yet been verified.
According to the dpa news agency, participants in the evening negotiations in Ukraine contradicted this description. All members of the negotiating groups would work normally, Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podoliak said on Monday. “In the information sector there is currently a lot of speculation, different versions of conspiracies and elements of one or the other information game.”
The Bellingcat research team said it could confirm that three members of the delegation involved in the peace talks on the night of March 4, 2022 showed symptoms consistent with chemical weapon poisoning.
Rustem Umyerov, who was mentioned as a victim in the Wall Street Journal, wrote on Facebook that morning that everything was fine with him. “I’m doing well. This is my answer to all the gossip that is spreading. Please do not trust any unverified information. We are also in an information war.”
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Abramovich is one of those Russian oligarchs who are on the Western sanctions lists and is also known in the West as the previous owner of the British football club Chelsea FC. After the mediation mission in Kyiv, during which he apparently also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he showed symptoms such as red eyes and skin disorders, the journal writes. These indicated poisoning.
A spokesman for President Zelensky confirmed to the WSJ that the President himself was not affected. He did not deny the meeting between Abramovich and Zelensky.
Moscow hardliners as perpetrators?
The Journal cites several sources close to the talks, who assume that the participants were poisoned. It is not yet known who is behind the possible poisoning. According to the WSJ, people close to Abramovich did not want to express any suspicion. Other sources apparently locate the culprit in “Moscow hardliner circles.” They would want to prevent any progress in talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Abramovich is said to have conducted the actual mediation talks not with Zelenskiy but with a group led by Crimean MP Umerov. New negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to begin in Turkey this Tuesday.
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