Who poisoned Roman Abramovich?

Russia is now 33 days into a war it expected would last 72 hours. Given the relative failure of the invasion, it is surprising anyone in the Russian security establishment has much time to spare for side projects. Yet, yesterday’s news that the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich was poisoned during informal peace negotiations with the Ukrainians would suggest otherwise.

While details are murky, according to the investigative journalism collective Bellingcat, billionaire Abramovich was engaged in shadow negotiations in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, earlier this month when he and his two Ukrainian interlocutors fell ill. The men later received medical treatment in Istanbul.

Since the story broke, there has been a heady mix of clarifications, confirmations and counter-accusations. Of course, even if it did happen, there is no proof the poisoning was Kremlin-ordered. But then again, only the Russian state has both the capacity to use these substances and a long history of doing so, from Aleksandr Litvinenko to Aleksei Navalny, via the Skripals.