Russian Billionaire, Ukrainian Peace Negotiators Suffer Suspected Poisoning

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and several Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered from symptoms of suspected poisoning, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. 

Abramovich flew to Kyiv earlier this month at the request of Ukrainian officials who hoped he could help broker an end to the Russian invasion. However, after the meeting, Abramovich and two senior members of the negotiating team suffered from symptoms including red eyes, painful tears, and peeling skin on their hands and faces. According to Sky News, Abramovich lost his sight for several hours and had to undergo treatment in Turkey.

Abramovich and the negotiators have since recovered, and their lives are not believed to be in any danger.

Bellingcat, an online group of private investigators, spoke to chemical weapons experts who said that the "symptoms were most consistent with variants of porphyrin, organophosphates, or bicyclic substances."

"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 group wrote on Twitter.