Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning after a meeting in Kyiv at the start of March, according to sources.
The Russian oligarch and at least two senior members of the Ukrainian delegation developed symptoms that included red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
The Independent understands Mr Abramovich did suffer from suspected poisoning as reported, but that the incident has not discouraged him from focusing on mediating negotiations between Russia and Ukraine while he is docked in Turkey.
The Chelsea FC owner accepted a request by Ukraine at the end of February to help negotiate an end to Vladimir Putin’s invasion just days after it started. The Kremlin said last week that he played an early role in peace talks, but that the process was now in the hands of the two sides’ negotiating teams.
The sanctioned oligarch - who has repeatedly distanced himself from claims from the UK government and others that he is close to Mr Putin - is currently in Turkey, where a new round of peace talks are set to resume this week
Sources told the Wall Street Journal they blamed the suspected poisoning attack on hard-liners in Moscow who they said wanted to sabotage talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Mr Abramovich and the Ukrainian negotiators, who include Crimean Tatar lawmaker Rustem Umerov, have since recovered and their lives are not in danger, according to the sources.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, who has met with Mr Abramovich, was not affected, they said. Mr Zelensky’s spokesman said he had no information about the suspected incident.
In response to the report, investigative news outlet Bellingcat said that three members of the delegation attending the peace talks on the night of 3 March experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons. One of the victims was Mr Abramovich, it said on Twitter.
Ukrainian MP Rustem Umerov took part in the negotiations, according to Bellingcat, although it was unclear whether he was personally affected by the suspected poisoning.
Three members of the negotiating team retreated to an apartment in Kyiv later on the night of 3 March and reportedly felt initial symptoms that did not abate until the morning.
On 4 March, the group of negotiators drove from the capital to Lviv on the way to Poland and then Turkey’s capital Istanbul, to continue informal negotiations with the Russian side, Bellingcat said.
Chemical weapons specialists told the outlet that the symptoms were most likely the result of poisoning with an undefined chemical weapon, with microwave irradiation another but less probable hypothesis.
The experts said the dosage and type of toxin used was likely insufficient to cause life-threatening damage, and was probably intended to scare the victims.
A source toldThe Guardian that Mr Abramovich lost his sight for several hours before being treated in Turkey.
Mr Abramovich was asked by Ukraine last month to help mediate because of his background in Russia, where he amassed wealth in the 1990s period of post-communist privatisation.
Under Mr Putin, Mr Abramovich served as governor of the remote Arctic region of Chukotka in Russia’s Far East before buying Chelsea in 2003.
Earlier this month Mr Abramovich had all his assets frozen in the UK and EU, with the British government saying that he had maintained a close relationship with Mr Putin for decades.
Two superyachts belonging to Mr Abramovich have docked in Turkey in the last week, with Ankara saying it opposes sanctions imposed by its Nato allies on Russian oligarchs.
Last week, Mr Abramovich flew from Istanbul to Moscow to meet the Russian president and deliver a handwritten note from Mr Zelensky outlining the terms Ukraine would consider agreeing to in order to end the month-long war, according to The Times.
Putin’s response was reportedly: ‘Tell him I will thrash them’.
Mr Zelensky has urged US president Joe Biden to not sanction Mr Abramovich because Kyiv believes he might be a crucial go-between with Moscow, a Ukrainian official told the Wall Street Journal last week.
The first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks are set to take place in Istanbul on Tuesday, after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Mr Putin on Sunday.
Ukraine is ready to declare neutrality and offer security guarantees to Russia, including keeping the country nuclear-free if Russia withdraws its troops, Mr Zelensky has said.
Ukrainian officials have downplayed the prospect of a major breakthrough at the negotiations, but have suggested Moscow could be more willing to compromise having seen stiff resistance and heavy losses.
