Chelsea Owner and Ukraine Negotiation Team Member Suffer Addiction Symptoms..."Blindness for Several Hours"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Allegations have emerged that Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch pushing for secret peace talks with Ukraine, and some members of the Ukrainian negotiation team experienced symptoms of poisoning during the negotiations. It is suspected that hardline factions within Russia may have carried out a poisoning attack as a warning to disrupt the talks.

On the 28th (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources, reported that "on the 3rd, during a secret peace meeting held in Kyiv, Abramovich and at least two senior representatives of the Ukrainian negotiation team showed symptoms of poisoning, including persistent eye redness and painful tearing, as well as skin peeling on their faces and hands."

Among those who exhibited poisoning symptoms alongside Abramovich was Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar member of parliament. WSJ reported, "According to a close associate of Abramovich, he lost his eyesight for several hours at the time." However, none of them were in life-threatening condition, and they were immediately evacuated to Istanbul for treatment, where their conditions improved.

According to Bellingcat, a European investigative media outlet, the three individuals consumed only water and chocolate before the poisoning symptoms appeared, which were also consumed by other negotiation team members who did not show any symptoms. Abramovich later met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who reportedly did not experience any symptoms.

Western experts currently investigating the incident told WSJ that it is difficult to determine whether the poisoning symptoms were caused by biochemical weapons or some form of electromagnetic radiation attack. There are suspicions that hardline factions opposing the peace talks within Russia may have orchestrated the poisoning attack as a warning.

Christo Grozev, the chief investigator at Bellingcat who investigated the 2020 nerve agent poisoning incident involving Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, is also investigating the poisoning incident involving Abramovich and others. Grozev examined photos of their symptoms but stated that due to the busy schedule of the negotiation team, timely samples could not be collected. He said, "This attack was not intended to kill but only to serve as a warning."

Meanwhile, Abramovich, known to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been closely involved in negotiations to stop the war since Russia's invasion began on the 24th of last month. Acting as a member of the Russian negotiation team, Abramovich has recently been working to help resolve humanitarian issues such as the safe evacuation of Mariupol citizens.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.