Ukrainian peace negotiators and Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch involved in talks between the two countries, were apparently poisoned recently, presumably by agents acting on behalf of Russia.

Three members of the delegation attending the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on the night of March 3rd experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons.

Abramovich, along with another Russian entrepreneur, had taken part in the negotiations alongside Ukraine’s MP Rustem Umerov. The negotiation round on the afternoon of March 3rd took place on Ukrainian territory and lasted until about 10 pm.

Three members of the negotiating team retreated to an apartment in Kyiv later that night and felt initial symptoms – including eye and skin inflammation and piercing pain in the eyes – later that night. The symptoms did not abate until the morning.

The next day the group of negotiators drove from Kyiv to Lviv on the way to Poland and then Istanbul, to continue informal negotiations with the Russian side. An investigator was asked to help provide an examination by chemical weapons specialists.

Based on remote and on-site examinations, the experts concluded that the symptoms are most likely the result of intentional poisoning with an undefined chemical weapon.

An alternative less likely hypothesis was use of microwave irradiation. The symptoms gradually subsided in the course of the following week.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)