Scare or Kill? Did Russia Poison Ukrainian Negotiators and Abramovich

As the fight in Ukraine continues to intensify, peace talks have also been going on for several weeks now. Earlier this month, Russian billionaire and former governor of Russia's Chukotka region Roman Abramovich reportedly recovered from a suspected poisoning, along with two members of the Ukrainian delegation to the Belarus negotiations.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Roman Abramovich and two Ukrainian negotiators suffered sudden symptoms earlier this month, including skin peeling and sore eyes, which could have been the result of a Russian chemical attack.

Reports have speculated the attack might have been staged by Russian "hardliners" who wished to obstruct talks and end any prospects of a peaceful solution to the military conflict that has entered its second month.

However, and amid silence on Roman Abramovich's part in this regard, several sources have cited US intelligence commentators who suggested that the said symptoms were not the result of poisoning, but rather "environmental conditions".

Currently, Abramovich and the unnamed Ukrainian politicians are reporting full recovery, according to sources.

Meanwhile, online people have been discussing the alleged attack, referring to past incidents in which Russian authorities attempted to poison political dissidents with intentions to either scare or kill them, such as what political opposition activist Alexei Navalny experienced in October 2020 using a Novichok nerve agent. The now-jailed Navalny was not the first to be poisoned in Russia for political reasons.

Russia's arsenal of chemical weapons has alerted Western countries over possible plans by the Russian army to put it in use in Ukraine, as the Russian invasion of the country continues. However, Russian government sources have repeatedly denied any plans to use chemical or nuclear weapons in Ukraine.