Former UN Chemical Weapons Inspector Explains How Suspected Abramovich Poisoning Likely Occurred

A former UN chemical weapons inspector has explained how the suspected poisoning of Roman Abramovich is likely to have occurred.

The Russian billionaire's spokesperson confirmed the suspected attack took place during peace talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, earlier this month.

The 55-year-old Chelsea FC owner has now recovered, but he reportedly suffered sore eyes and skin peeling. Two Ukrainian peace negotiators are also reported to have been targeted.

Speaking on Sky News, former UN chemical weapons inspector Jerry Smith said: "Those signs and symptoms are fairly non-specific, there's a whole range of things that could have caused that - and clearly there's some indications it may well be a warfare agent."

Investigative website Bellingcat said the symptoms suffered by the trio were consistent with poisoning with 'chemical weapons', though the dosage and type of toxin indicated the attack 'most likely was intended to scare', rather than be fatal.

Bellingcat went on to state that the trio had consumed nothing but chocolate and water in the hours before the development of symptoms - which did not subside until the day after the attack.

As for how the suspected poisoning was likely to have been carried out, said: "I suspect that if it is a covert poisoning it's probably not something like chlorine, which tends to be a gas, but it's something that I guess would have been on contact - which somehow has either been ingested or put onto their skin."

He continued: "You can't really attempt to poison somebody to injure them, to frighten somebody. You've got to get fairly good doses in there, or accurate doses.

"When you go to a doctor, the doctor is quite specific about how much medicine you might want to take. So, this idea of poisoning to scare somebody, is one theory I suppose, but it's just such an exact science when you're trying to do it covertly.

"Whether it was to interrupt the talks, whether it was to send a message - there's many options at this stage, and I don't think we can rule anything out or anything definite at this stage."

Indeed, a US official has said that intelligence suggests Abramovich and the Ukrainian peace negotiators became sick due to an environmental factor, and not poisoning.

The official - who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters: "The intelligence highly suggests this was environmental, e.g., not poisoning."

A spokesperson for Abramovich has previously stated that the oligarch is playing a 'limited role' in efforts to find a 'peaceful resolution' to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Abramovich was added to the UK's sanction list earlier this month, over his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The move came after the billionaire announced that he would be selling Chelsea, following mounting public pressure.