Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is in such bad shape he feared he would die after allegedly being poisoned earlier this month during peace talks to end the invasion of Ukraine, a report said on Wednesday.
“Are we dying?” Abramovich asked a visiting scientist to examine him, the New York Times reported.
The billionaire and Kremlin confidante was one of three men who suffered from peeling skin on his face and hands, constant and painful tearing, red eyes and temporary blindness after meeting in Kyiv.
Roman Abramovich attends peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday. Cem Ozdel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The latest on the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukrainian MP Rustem Umerov was also allegedly poisoned.EPA/SERGEI KHOLODILIN/BelTA/HANDOUT
The trio – which included Ukrainian MP Rustem Umerov and another unidentified Russian businessman – recovered in the weeks that followed.
Amid speculation that the apparent poisoning was the work of Kremlin hardliners bent on derailing the peace process, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday dismissed the whole affair as part of an “information war.”
An unnamed Western official warned against ruling out “environmental factors” as a cause of the men’s symptoms.
“The evidence is quite patchy and in a difficult place,” the official told the New York Times on Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes the Russian and Ukrainian delegations ahead of their talks in Istanbul. Press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine via AP
Peskov confirmed that Abramovich served in an unofficial capacity as a diplomatic mediator. It is widely believed that the oligarch passed messages between Moscow and Kyiv.
Abramovich was spotted among delegations in Istanbul on Tuesday, where another round of peace talks between the two nations has begun.