Abramovich, Ukrainian peace negotiators hit by suspected poisoning

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning earlier this month after a meeting in Kyiv, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Abramovich, who accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and at least two senior members of the Ukrainian team, were affected, the WSJ report said.

Their symptoms included red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands, the WSJ report added.

Abramovich and the Ukrainian negotiators, including Crimean Tatar lawmaker Rustem Umerov, have since improved and their lives are not in danger, WSJ reported.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed the incident to Reuters but said Abramovich had not allowed it to stop him working.

The Kremlin has said Abramovich played an early role in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine but the process was now in the hands of the two sides' negotiating teams. Read full story

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what President Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.

More from International News

  • US military targets IS in Syria strikes

    The US military said on Saturday it carried out multiple strikes in Syria targeting ISIS as part of an operation that Washington launched in December after an attack on American personnel.

  • Israeli fire kills three people in Gaza, tension rises

    Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians in two separate incidents across Gaza, local health authorities said, as tension rises over continued violence.

  • Tens of thousands protest in Minneapolis over fatal ICE shooting

    Tens of thousands of people marched through Minneapolis on Saturday to decry the fatal shooting of a woman by a US immigration agent, part of more than 1,000 rallies planned nationwide over the weekend against the federal government's deportation drive.

  • One dead in Australian bush fires

    At least one person has died in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland, police said on Sunday.

Coming Up

  • Non Stop 92

    8:00pm - 10:00pm

  • Dubai 92 Chilled

    10:00pm - Midnight