Viktor Yushchenko fell severely ill during the 2004 presidential election campaign, and after treatment in Austria was diagnosed as having suffered massive dioxin poisoning
er was disfigured and nearly died from the poisoning, his spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Viktor Yushchenko fell severely ill during the 2004 presidential election campaign, and after treatment in Austria was diagnosed as having suffered massive dioxin poisoning.
Earlier this month, he traveled to Geneva for medical tests, which showed the concentration of the poison in his blood had dropped significantly as a result of “detoxification procedures,” spokeswoman Larisa Mudrak said.
“The president feels well,” she said. Ukrainian authorities have concluded that the poisoning, whose symptoms Yushchenko said appeared after a dinner with top security officials, was an assassination attempt. The poisoning knocked him off the campaign trail for weeks, and left his face severely pockmarked.
No one has been charged in the case and critics have accused prosecutors of dragging out the investigation. Security service officials who attended the dinner with Yushchenko have denied all allegations of involvement.
The Prosecutor General’s office said that the investigation is ongoing but refused to disclose any details.
