Bellingcat @bellingcat
Bellingcat can confirm that three members of the delegation attending the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on the night of 3 to 4 March 2022 experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons. One of victims was Russian entrepreneur Roman Abramovich.
Abramovich, along with another Russian entrepreneur, had taken part in the negotiations alongside Ukraine’s MP Rustem Umerov. The negotiation round on the afternoon of 3 March took place on Ukrainian territory, and lasted until about 10 pm.
Three members of the negotiating team retreated to an apartment in Kyiv later that night and felt initial symptoms - including eye and skin inflammation and piercing pain in the eyes - later that night. 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. A Bellingcat investigator was asked to help provide an examination by chemical weapons specialists.
Based on remote and on-site examinations, the experts concluded that the symptoms are most likely the result of international poisoning with an undefined chemical weapon.
An alternative less likely hypothesis was use of microwave irradiation. The symptoms gradually subsided in the course of the following week.
The three men experiencing the symptoms consumed only chocolate and water in the hours before the symptoms appeared. A fourth member of the team who also consumed these did not experience symptoms.
According to two consulted CW experts and a doctor, the symptoms were most consistent with variants of porphyrin, organophosphates, or bicyclic substances. A definitive determination was not possible due to the absence of specialized laboratory equipment near the victims.
The experts said the dosage and type of toxin used was likely insufficient to cause life-threatening damage, and most likely was intended to scare the victims as opposed to cause permanent damage. The victims said they were not aware of who might have had an interest in an attack
^Bellingcat chose not to report this story earlier due to concern about the safety of the victims. Given the choice of the targeted individuals to speak up, Bellingcat and its investigative partner @theinsru
intend to publish an investigation into the presumed poisonings.^
Firstly this story is NOT primarily about Abramovich:
- A Ukrainian MP was part of the team. They tried to scare the Ukrainian Peace Makers. That says Russia has no intention of making peace. What would have happened if they HAD killed the delegation?
- The who and how is the next big question: Remember this incident happened on UKRAINIAN soil. So how did the poison get there and who administered it? You can't just saunter into Ukraine atm.
- How long have the West known about this? We've had lots of comments about expecting chemical attacks and not seeing a chemical attack as a red line (perhaps this is why, because they ALREADY knew one had happened). It changes how you interprete what Western leaders have said, if they had knowledge of this. The fact Bellingcat is involved does suggest that they had early knowledge of the incident.
- Then we get to the questions about Abramovich: was he actually a target? And then questions pop up firstly over Zelensky apparently asked Biden not to sanction him immediately and secondly Zelensky mentioned him in his interview with Russia independent media in offering to help rebuild. Also it was reported on the 25th March - AFTER this incident - that Abramovich had gone to Poland (from Ukraine!) to talk to Biden over negotiations with Putin. He had travelled there on a Portugese not Russian passport according to these reports
- This has become public on the very day that a story - led by Bellingcat on the BBC - has been reported about a former Putin rival being murdered by poison. (Cos this is obviously a total coincedence and not about making a point about how far Putin's gone before
)
- Is this an isolated incident? Has there been other ones? If so, who has been targetted?
- This is being framed as being an attack by 'Russian Hardliners' rather than state sanctioned or ordered directly by Putin. Why? To make Putin look less hardline?! Or to be diplomatic about a chemical attack, given we know that this has been done before...?
Regardless I think this wins story of the day hands down.
Alternative Moral of the story: Chocolate really is bad for your health.