By Daily Sports Nigeria on March 28, 2022

RUSSIAN Oligarch Roman Abramovich has reportedly suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning.

The Chelsea owner fell ill along with Ukrainian peace negotiators, in an attack blamed on hardliners in Moscow who they say want to sabotage their talks designed to end the war.

Symptoms included red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Abramovich also lost his sight for several hours as a result of the attack, according to The Guardian.

The billionaire and at least two members of his Ukrainian counterparts fell ill shortly after a meeting in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv earlier this month.

A fourth member of the team did not fall ill, despite having the same food and drink as them.

His spokesperson confirmed that he suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning.

However, an advisor to the Ukrainian presidential administration has dismissed the poisoning allegation as "speculation".

Speaking to Hromadske news outlet, Mykhailo Podoliak added that all of the Ukrainian negotiators "are working as usual".

Abramovich left the UK earlier this month after being sanctioned by the British government over his ties to Vladimir Putin.

He has since been involved in secret peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

These talks are believed to be a way of restoring his image following the hefty sanctions from the UK and the EU.

He has been shuttling back and forth between Moscow and Lviv in western Ukraine since the start of the war.

It isn't known whether the suspected attack was caused by a biological or chemical agent or some sort of electromagnetic-radiation attack.

The investigative website Bellingcat found that the dosage and type of toxin used against the trio was "likely insufficient" to cause life-threatening damage.

Instead, the attack was meant to "scare" the victims.

It reports that the poison used was most likely a variant of porphyrin, a protein needed in the red blood cells to carry oxygen, but which can be dangerous at high levels.

Alternatively, it is reported that it could have been an organophosphate - similar to phosphoric acid.

President Zelensky, who has met with Abramovich in recent weeks, was reportedly unaffected.

The Russian handed Putin a handwritten note from Zelensky just days ago.

A person close to Abramovich said it wasn't clear who had targeted the group, but it may have been hardliners in Moscow who want to sabotage peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Bellingcat confirmed three members of the joint delegation - including Abramovich - attended peace talks in the Ukrainian capital on March 3.

Immediately, they experienced "symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons".

Abramovich, another Russian businessman, and Ukrainian MP Rustem Umerov had taken part in negotiations which went on until about 10pm.

The trio had consumed nothing except chocolate and water in the hours before their symptoms appeared.

On March 4, Abramovich, Umerov, and the negotiator drove from Kyiv to Lviv while on their way to Poland, before continuing to Istanbul for further negotiations.

The conditions of the Oligarch and his Ukrainian negotiators, including Crimean Tartar lawmaker Rustem Umerov, have since improved and their lives are no longer in danger, sources have said.

It came as Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK amid a crackdown on Russian money as the world seeks to strangle Putin's regime.

The 55-year-old billionaire faces ruin as tough new restrictions were slapped on him over his home country's bloody and brutal invasion.

Abramovich - who has a net worth of around £10billion - has been banned from selling Chelsea and has had all of his UK assets frozen after weeks of speculation he could be subject to sanctions.

Documents published by the British government accuse the Chelsea boss of having a "close relationship" with Putin.

And UK officials also accused him of being involved in "destabilising" Ukraine through his stake in steel manufacturers and mining company Evraz PLC.

Documents allege the firm may have provided steel to the Russian military which would have been used in the production of tanks.

Abramovich's spokesman has previously denied Evraz steel was used for the Russian military, saying it was meant for "rail and construction".

Russian tanks - often painted with the white 'Z' symbol - have played a major role in Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The government document reads Evraz has been involved in "undermining or threatening" Ukraine, which includes "potentially supplying steel to the Russian military which may have been used in the production of tanks".

The document describes Abramovich as a "pro-Kremlin oligarch" and also accuses him of taking a "financial benefit or other material benefit" from his association with Putin.

Companies linked to him are said to have gotten tax breaks, received benefits on share sales, and won contracts in the run-up to the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Abramovich took direct control of the steel group just last month - days before Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich had previously sold a £151million stake in Evraz back in 2019 - a move which the company said it hoped would reduce the sanctions risk.

Pressure had been growing for the government to sanction Abramovich as he was attempting to offload Chelsea by putting it up for sale.

Abramovich - who holds Russian, Israeli and Portuguese citizenship - has now seen the club thrown into limbo.

Western officials have been going after Russia's cash and those who have close links to Putin, such as Abramovich.

It is hoped going after the mafia-style regime's coffers will help put an end to Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich is among many of Putin's cronies sanctioned to keep twisting the thumbscrews on Russia for waging a cruel war on Ukraine.

The Chelsea owner has a sprawling property portfolio in Britain - which he can no longer visit after a travel ban.

He has started a fire sale of his London property as well as Chelsea football club.

Hundreds of millions of pounds worth of yachts and private jets belonging to Abramovich remain out of bounds as they try and avoid sanctioned waters and airspace.

Source Sporting Sun

Posted March 28, 2022

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