According to The Insider, a large number of journalists and activists who opposed Vladimir Putin’s regime in Europe were poisoned with unknown substances last year.
The Russian edition of The Insider has conducted a detailed study of the latest wave of poisonings affecting journalists and activists who left Russia last year. In October, Novaya Gazeta and Meduza journalist Elena Kostyuchenko was poisoned in Munich, and a week later Ekho Moskvy journalist Irina Babloyan found similar symptoms in Tbilisi. In the spring, Natalia Arno, head of the Free Russia Foundation, was also poisoned with a neurotoxic substance.
The poisoning of Elena Kostyuchenko
Elena KostyuchenkoNovaya Gazeta correspondent left Russia after the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He published reports on Russian war crimes in Kherson. The newspaper received a warning from Roskomnadzor and temporarily stopped working.
Despite this, Kostyuchenko decided to continue his reporting activities. He planned to go to Mariupol, which is controlled by Ukraine. However, it was said that the Kadyrovites (part of the National Guard) were ordered to find and kill him. This is confirmed by an audio clip of him discussing the trip. He remembered that there was a suspicious car in Kherson under his apartment, possibly with an antenna on the roof to listen in.
A source from Ukrainian intelligence said that Novaya Gazeta correspondent Elena Kostyuchenko was planned to be killed in Ukraine and orientation had already been sent to Russian checkpoints. A week before this event, The Insider reporter Oksana Baulina was killed in Kiev. He and his companions were attacked by an unknown type of ammunition, which was the only incident that day she.
Elena Kostyuchenko left Zaporozhye and Ukraine with the intention of spending some time in Europe, finishing the book, and then returning to Russia.
At the end of April, Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov warned Kostyuchenko that he could not return to Russia due to the threat of murder. The newspaper had faced threats before, but now Muratov was adamant not to return.
Kostyuchenko moved to Berlin while working for Meduza. He planned a trip to Iran and Ukraine. However, due to a hacker attack on the embassy’s website, he had trouble obtaining a visa to Ukraine.
On the evening of October 17, he went to Munich and then to Berlin. The next day his condition worsened – headache, fatigue. Kostyuchenko returned to the apartment and fell asleep, later described severe shortness of breath and rapid pulse.
The next morning, Kostyuchenko felt severe pain in his stomach, above his stomach, pain in his spine and dizziness. That day was the beginning of insomnia, pain, and constant nausea. He visited a doctor who was suspicious of the effects of COVID-19.
Later blood tests revealed elevated liver enzymes and blood in the urine. Viral hepatitis was considered, but tests were negative. Gradually the pain subsided, but there were swelling, redness and swelling in the arms and legs, as well as sleep problems.
Doctors have done extensive research, ruling out autoimmune diseases and other causes. A doctor associated with Meduza asked about the possibility of poisoning, and a month later another doctor recommended testing for toxins at the Charité clinic, confirming that all causes except possible poisoning were ruled out.
After Kostyuchenko was poisoned, she went to the police to get a toxin test. The interrogation and investigation was conducted by the same investigator as in the cases of Khangoshvili’s murder and Verzilov’s poisoning. The police checked Kostyuchenko for radiation and found that radioactive substances were absent.
Kostyuchenko’s symptoms gradually disappeared, leaving only weakness. More than three hours a day does not work fully. Blood tests may have shown the nature of the poisoning, but they’ve been the subject of strange occurrences. After drawing blood at the hospital, police initially reported that the doctors misunderstood the police’s request and only tested for alcohol and drugs. Police promised to do additional tests for toxins, but announced that there was no blood at the hospital.
Natalia Arno’s Poisoning in Prague
Natalya Arno – The head of the Free Russia Foundation is engaged in supporting activists and analytics against Putin’s circle. On May 2, 2023, when he returned to the hotel after an incident in Prague, he found the door of his room open. In the following hours, he felt a terrible pain spreading through his body. He did not go to the doctors in Prague, but flew to Washington, where he discovered that he had been poisoned by a neurotoxic substance.
Blood tests confirmed the poisoning, and US law enforcement launched an investigation. Experts think he may have been poisoned by a nerve gas that was injected into his mouth while brushing his teeth. A similar incident occurred in Vilnius in 2021, where he smelled perfume in his room and developed symptoms of poisoning.
Possible poisoning of Irina Babloyan in Tbilisi
Journalist “Echo of Moscow” Irina BabloyanMoved to Tbilisi. On the evening of October 25, he felt weak and woke up the next morning with weakness and dizziness. Painful palms and feet appeared. After a trip to Yerevan, he felt sick, dizzy, had stomach pain and a metallic taste in his mouth. Skin redness appeared and disappeared suddenly. The symptoms went away after a few days, but the rash persisted.
Irina did not go to a toxicologist immediately after the poisoning. Allergy tests came back negative. He donated blood for toxicological analysis in Berlin, but the results were lost. She recently retested, but after all these months it’s hard to find traces of the toxin. Experts believe that the clinical picture is not associated with known diseases and is likely a version of exogenous poisoning with an agent similar to Kostyuchenko.
Unconfirmed poisonings: Lyubov Sobol and Elvira Vikhareva
Two prominent people last year – an activist Lyubov Otter and Moscow activist Elvira Vikhareva – explained their poisoning. Lyubov Sobol stated that he was poisoned in Berlin after the trip. However, doctors interviewed by The Insider do not see any evidence of poisoning in their symptoms. As for Elvira Vikhareva, she reported several poisonings with potassium dichromate, but experts believe that the described symptoms are difficult to explain with poisoning. The investigation also revealed inconsistencies and contradictions in Vikhareva’s statements, raising questions about the reliability of her statements.
Recall that in March 2022 Bellingcat reported that three delegation members participating in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia showed signs of chemical weapons poisoning.
Source: Focus
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