Den russiske oligarken Roman Abramovitsj og flere fredsforhandlere i den ukrainske delegasjonen skal ha fått symptomer på forgiftning, skriver The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Following the meeting in the Ukrainian capital, Mr. Abramovich, who has shuttled between Moscow, Lviv and other negotiating venues, as well as at least two senior members of the Ukrainian team developed symptoms that included red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands, the people said.

They blamed the suspected attack on hard-liners in Moscow who they said wanted to sabotage talks to end the war. A person close to Mr. Abramovich said it wasn’t clear who had targeted the group.

Det velrenommerte nettstedet Bellingcat har også fått bekreftet at tre medlemmer av den ukrainske delegasjonen som deltok i fredssamtaler mellom Ukraina og Russland natt til 4. mars, opplevde symptomer.

Bellingcat can confirm that three members of the delegation attending the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on the night of 3 to 4 March 2022 experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons. One of the victims was Russian entrepreneur Roman Abramovich. https://t.co/DJaZ4CoL8J

— Bellingcat (@bellingcat) March 28, 2022

Russiske myndigheter mistenkes for å ha hatt et ønske om å sabotere forhandlingene om å få slutt på krigen ved å forgifte dem som forhandler om fred, men det er på det nåværende tidspunkt uklart hvem som står bak de angivelige forgiftningene.

Både Abramovitsj og de ukrainske forhandlerne har det etter forholdene bra, og de er ikke i livsfare, skriver WSJ.

Mr. Abramovich and the Ukrainian negotiators, who include Crimean Tatar lawmaker Rustem Umerov, have since improved and their lives aren’t in danger, the people said. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who has met with Mr. Abramovich, wasn’t affected, they said. Mr. Zelensky’s spokesman said he had no information about any suspected poisoning.

Western experts who looked into the incident said it was hard to determine whether the symptoms were caused by a chemical or biological agent or by some sort of electromagnetic-radiation attack, the people familiar with the matter said.

Kreml har ikke kommentert påstandene. Tyske rettsmedisinere kom for sent til å fastlå om en forgiftning hadde funnet sted. Uansett er det ikke ukjent at russerne bruker slike metoder, også i Europa.

In 2018, Britain blamed Russia’s intelligence services for a nerve-agent attack on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer who defected to the United Kingdom, and his daughter Yulia. Both survived, as did a British police officer hospitalized after contact with the poison. A British woman later died after accidentally coming into contact with the nerve agent.

Roman Abramovitsj er også kjent som mangeårig eier av den engelske fotballklubben Chelsea, men har på grunn av sanksjoner trukket seg ut av klubben.

Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian Peace Negotiators Suffer Symptoms of Suspected Poisoning

Kjøp Alf R. Jacobsens politiske bombe «Stalins svøpe: KGB, AP og kommunismens medløpere» her!