Concerns about former Putin confidant Anatoly Chubais are growing in Italy. According to various media, he is to be treated with serious health problems at a clinic on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where he is said to have been on holiday before. The circumstances surrounding Chubais’ illness led to speculation that the former Kremlin adviser may have been poisoned.
“This is of course sad news, we wish him a speedy recovery,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday of Chubai’s illness. On Sunday, prominent Russian moderator and former presidential candidate Xenia Sobchak, citing Chubais’ family, wrote that the 67-year-old had been taken to an intensive care unit in an “unstable condition”.
“He got sick. His arms and legs were suddenly paralyzed.” According to Sobchak, the room where Chubais last stayed was examined by “specialists in protective chemical suits”.
Suspected poisoning under investigation
These descriptions sparked speculation on social networks that the former confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been poisoned. The Italian daily “La Repubblica” also wrote that a suspected poisoning was being investigated. A possible cause of Tschubais’ malaise could also be a rare nerve disease, it said.
“Cremlin Call” Speeds Ahead
In the past, there have been repeated cases of poisoning of Kremlin opponents – including well-known Russian opposition figure Alexej Navalny, who narrowly survived an assassination attempt in 2020 involving the nerve agent Novichok. Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Jarmysch now responded directly to the ailing Chubais: “So that’s the Kremlin’s reputation: no one has any doubts that Chubais was poisoned,” she wrote on Twitter.
Chubais resigned as Kremlin special envoy in late March this year, which he took over in 2020 — about a month after Russia invaded Ukraine. According to media reports, he did not agree with Putin’s war. Only then did the Kremlin say that Chubais had left “at his own request”.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
