Chelsea FC owner and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich suffered an alleged poisoning after helping peace negotiators earlier this month, per The Wall Street Journal.
Details: Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered the poisoning symptoms after meeting in Kyiv in March to help negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia, per WSJ.
- His condition has reportedly improved, according to multiple reports,
- The lives of Abramovich and the peace negotiators do not appear to be in danger.
What happened: Abramovich — as well as two Ukrainian peace negotiators — experienced eye irritation and peeling skin on their faces and hands.
- There’s no immediate answer to who might have poisoned Abramovich and the Ukrainian officials, per Forbes.
Yes, but: The officials said they blamed the attacks on “hard-liners in Moscow who they said wanted to sabotage talks to end the war,” according to MarketWatch.
The bigger picture: The suspected poisoning has come as Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has sought out ways to negotiate peace in the war. Zelenskyy has met with Abramovich in recent weeks.
- Over the weekend, Zelenskyy said he is open to declaring “neutrality” and ending his bid for Ukraine to join NATO.
- “Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it. This is the most important point,” Zelenskyy said, per Reuters.