A series of poisonings of Russian women who left Russia has taken place in several countries since the fall of 2022. Journalists and Irina Babloyan, as well as the head of the Svobodnaya Russia Foundation (“Free Russia Foundation”) Natalia Arno, were among the affected, The Insider reported.
“In October 2022, Elena Kostyuchenko, a journalist for Novaya Gazeta and Meduza, was poisoned in Munich; a week later, Ekho Moskvy journalist Irina Babloyan suffered almost identical symptoms in Tbilisi; and in the spring, Natalia Arno, head of the Free Russia Foundation, was poisoned with a neurotoxic substance,” the journalists write.
Who is behind the poisoning is currently unknown. The Insider does not rule out that there are other victims of poisoning. The journalists decided to publish the available data “to warn activists and journalists who have left Russia about the existing threat.”
Journalists studied the incidents together with doctors who are experts in toxic substances. Elena Kostyuchenko was probably poisoned in Munich during lunch with a friend in October. The reporter worked in Kherson at the beginning of the war, and in March of last year, she received a warning about the preparation of an attempt on her by the Kadyrovites. The manager of the journalist advised Kostyuchenko not to return to Russia.
Irina Babloyan was probably poisoned in Tbilisi in October in one of the hotels. The symptoms of Kostyuchenko and Babloyan were similar (pain above the stomach, nausea, metallic taste in the mouth). Natalia Arno was poisoned in Prague, also in a hotel.
Kostyuchenko and Babloyan could not get the results of the analyzes due to unknown reasons. Arno managed to conduct a medical examination of blood, US law enforcement agencies are investigating the reporter’s case. The results of the toxicological analysis are still unknown, but the doctors reported that Natalia was poisoned by a neurotoxic substance (without specifying which one). It was probably a nerve agent, experts suggest.
Cover: The Insider
