The Wall Street Journal cited sources from the Dutch-based press investigation group Bellingcat as saying on March 28 that billionaire Roman Abramovich and two senior Ukrainian negotiators "had symptoms of suspected poisoning" after a meeting in Kiev earlier this month. Symptoms include "red eyes, continuous and painful tearing, peeling face and hands".
Bellingcat can confirm that three members of the delegation attending the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on the night of March 3 to March 4, 2022 experienced symptoms of chemical weapons poisoning. One of the victims was Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, Bellingcat Trump said on March 28.
Christo Grozev, who conducted the Bellingcat investigation, told the Wall Street Journal that the trio were suspected of being targeted by chemical weapons or electromagnetic radiation, "but not for the purpose of killing, but as a warning."
Grozev said that seeing photos of Abramovich and Ukrainian negotiators made him suspect an attack, but could not arrange samples in time. grozev said that at the time for German forensic experts to conduct the examination, the golden time had passed to detect the suspected poison.
The Wall Street Journal described Bellingcat as a open source code complex. Bellingcat has accused Russia of being involved in the poisoning of pilot Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal in 2018 in the UK, and activist Alexei Navalny in 2020. Russia considered Bellingcat a foreign agent in December 2020, citing Bellingcat's relationship with Western intelligence agencies and being funded by the US, UK and Dutch governments.
The Wall Street Journal said Western experts cannot determine whether the symptoms are caused by a chemical or biological agent, or "a certain electromagnetic radiation attack" - like "Mysterious Havana syndrome".
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked the White House not to punish Abramovich, who was trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine. Sources cited in the article do not know whether Abramovich was really involved in the negotiations and he was still on the sanctions list.
The oil tycoon during the Yeltsin era, who lives in England and owns Chelsea football club, is said to have acted as a "supporting information vessel" between the Kremlin and Kiev, meeting both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month.
However, Ukrainian officials have expressed skepticism about Bellingcat's report. "There are many speculations and various plot theories," Mikhail Podolyak told Reuters, while Rustem Umerov - believed to be one of the three people affected - said that people should not believe "unverified information".
Within hours of Bellingcat's statement, the US government spoke skeptically. US officials also do not believe that the symptoms of Ukrainian negotiators and Russian businessman Roman Abramovich are equivalent to poisoning.
"Intaligent information shows that the symptoms that Abramovich and the two Ukrainian officials are alleged to have encountered in peace talks with Russia may be due to environmental factors, not poisoning," Reuters quoted a US government official as saying.
