INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators experienced symptoms of a suspected poisoning after a meeting in Kyiv
the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine aimed at ending the monthlong war, reportedly with President Vladimir Putin's direct
blessing.The revelation risks thwarting the peace process, which is already fraught with deep-seated disagreements between the sides even
though Russia's offensive has lost momentum.The symptoms experienced by Abramovich and two senior Ukrainian negotiators were blamed on
Russian hardliners who want to sabotage talks to end the war, WSJ cited its sources as saying
They included red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on the hands and face.A spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky told The Wall Street Journal he had no information about a suspected poisoning.The Bellingcat investigative outlet said it could
confirm that three members of the Ukrainian delegation that attended Russia-Ukraine peace talks on March 3 experienced symptoms consistent
The negotiation round on the afternoon of 3 March took place on Ukrainian territory, and lasted until about 10 p.m.," Bellingcat
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," the outlet continued."A Bellingcat investigator was asked to help provide an examination by chemical weapons
specialists."Bellingcat has previously revealed links between Russia's security and military-intelligence services to the 2018 nerve-agent
wasn't possible to perform a timely sample collection from Abramovich and the negotiatiors while they were in Lviv, as they were hurrying to
to be detected by the time German forensics specialists were able to examine the individuals, Grozev, who saw photos of the symptoms,
intended to kill, it was just a warning," Grozev said.
