Close ally and associate of President Petro Poroshenko Ihor Kononenko was poisoned last month, journalist and chief editor of the news website lb.ua Sonia Koshkina wrote in an article under the title “Conservation,” published on lb.ua on Jan. 27.
“Ihor Kononenko is right now preoccupied with personal issues. Just before New Year’s Eve he was diagnosed with… mercury poisoning,” the journalist wrote.
“According to the doctor’s’ verdict, the mercury content in his blood was 50 times higher than normal. Of course, this cannot be considered an accident,” she said.
Koshkina also claimed that, according to her sources, the poisoning didn’t happen on one occasion, it was carried out gradually over time. In her opinion, this makes it not an attempted murder, but more of an attempt to “frighten and wreck for six months and longer.”
Kononenko is a lawmaker who serves as deputy head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc’s faction in the Verkhovna Rada. He is also one of the closest people to the Ukrainian president and one of his longtime business partners.
“Considering the fact that Kononenko is Poroshenko’s right-hand man not only in political matters, but more significantly in business matters, it is logical to suppose that this was targeted not at Kononenko, but at Poroshenko himself,” Koshkina wrote.
Koshkina also highlighted the narrowness of the circle of trusted people who take part in the Presidential administration decision-making process, which she argues only consists of Poroshenko himself, Makar Paseniuk, Oleksandr Hranovskiy, and Kononenko.
The poisoning was confirmed by Kononenko’s fellow member of Petro Poroshenko Bloc’s faction, lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko, who at first did not confirm it saying to “Komsomolska Pravda” on Jan. 27 that he saw Kononenko a week ago and he looked “absolutely healthy.” No signs that he might be feeling sick, he said.
Later, on the same day Honcharenko confirmed the poisoning on his Facebook account.
“First of all, it is unfortunately true. And secondly, his enemies can stop dreaming. That’s the main thing,” Honcharenko said, essentially confirming Koshkina’s suggestion that the poisoning was deliberately carried out.
Honcharenko also said that Kononenko is a strong man and will cope with this situation.
“He didn’t want to make a sensation out of what happened, so he didn’t spread any information. (Kononenko) continues to work both in the faction, and in the parliament,” Honcharenko wrote adding that he wishes the deputy head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc’s faction health.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine did not receive any complaints with regards to the poisoning.
“If such a claim will come through, we will begin proceedings,” the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine told the agency “Interfax-Ukraine” on Jan. 27, adding that they can only react to official pleas.
Sources in Petro Poroshenko Bloc’s faction earlier told Interfax that Kononenko is currently going through a “rehab program, a detox course.”
“This will not affect his work in the parliament and in the faction, because the poisoning happened earlier and it did not affect his work performance,” they said.
