Posted on 12/07/2004 3:11:02 PM PST by Pokey78
MEDICAL experts have confirmed that Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine’s opposition leader, was poisoned in an attempt on his life during election campaigning, the doctor who supervised his treatment at an Austrian clinic said yesterday.
Doctors at Vienna’s exclusive Rudolfinerhaus clinic are within days of identifying the substance that left Mr Yushchenko’s face disfigured with cysts and lesions, Nikolai Korpan told The Times in a telephone interview.
Specialists in Britain, the United States and France had helped to establish that it was a biological agent, a chemical agent or, most likely, a rare poison that struck him down in the run-up to the presidential election, he said. Doctors needed to examine Mr Yushchenko again at the clinic in Vienna to confirm their diagnosis but were in no doubt that the substance was administered deliberately, he said.
“This is no longer a question for discussion,” Dr Korpan said. “We are now sure that we can confirm which substance caused this illness. He received this substance from other people who had a specific aim.”
Asked if the aim had been to kill him, Dr Korpan said: “Yes, of course.”
Proof that Mr Yushchenko was deliberately poisoned would be a devastating blow for his rival, the Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych, as the two candidates prepare for a repeat of a presidential run-off on December 26.
It would raise questions about whether the poisoning was ordered by Mr Yanukovych, his allies, or even the Kremlin, which fears that Mr Yushchenko will take Ukraine out of its sphere of influence by joining Nato and the EU.
Mr Yushchenko had said recently that he would soon reveal proof that his opponents had tried to assassinate him, but a spokeswoman said he had no plans to travel to Vienna.
Mr Yushchenko fell ill on September 6 and was rushed to Rudolfinerhaus four days later with severe abdominal pain and lesions on his face and trunk. His liver, pancreas and intestines were swollen and his digestive tract covered in ulcers, but doctors could not explain the symptoms. Against their advice he went back on the campaign trail after a week, but returned to the clinic two weeks later with back pain.
Again he returned to campaigning, with his face half paralysed and a catheter inserted in his back so that doctors — still baffled — could inject painkillers into his spinal column.
Rudolfinerhaus doctors had previously said that they did not have medical evidence to back up or rule out deliberate poisoning.
Mr Yanukovych’s supporters ridiculed the opposition, saying the illness was probably caused by bad sushi, too much cognac or a severe case of herpes. A parliamentary investigation found no evidence of poisoning.
But Dr Korpan said that toxicologists and other experts at laboratories in Britain, the US and France had since examined Mr Yushchenko’s blood samples and medical records. “We will reveal the results in the near future and confirm the cause of this mysterious illness,” he said. “We need to check him again here in Vienna. If we received him today, we could finish the whole investigation in two or three days.”
He declined to say exactly what the substance might have been, or where it might have come from. “Maybe it was administered through injection, maybe in water, maybe through eating, but the way to give it to him is very simple. This substance can be given very precisely — to only one person,” he said.
John Henry, a prominent British toxicologist, has suggested that Mr Yushchenko’s symptoms were consistent with dioxin poisoning, which causes a severe form of acne called chloracne. Doctors at Rudolfinerhaus did not initially test Mr Yushchenko for dioxin, in part because his skin changes were not as severe as they are now. He also refused a biopsy of his face because he did not want to campaign with stitches. Other doctors have suggested that Mr Yushchenko may have been struck down by a rare illness. Dr Korpan said that Mr Yushchenko should be able to make a full recovery but needed to get back to the clinic. “We are waiting to check him as soon as possible and then we can say what he needs.” He said Mr Yushchenko was no longer having injections, but was taking a combination of vitamins and medicine to boost his immune system. The offices of Leonid Kuchma, the outgoing President, and Mr Yanukovych did not comment on Dr Korpan’s disclosure. But Viktor Pinchuk, Mr Kuchma’s billionaire son-in-law, said in a recent interview he did not believe that there was evidence that Mr Yushchenko was poisoned. “I believe he is sure it was poisoning. He’s not a liar. But some people from his camp created this provocation against him, his image, the government and the country,” he said.
The old commies are at it again. how many USSR Premiers look get one day and the next thing you know they were on deaths door. And low and behold they died.
He' suffering from exhaustion.
Gee, why does this have me thinking of Georgi Markov again....
BEFORE
Hah, that settles it then /s>
The KGB has a quite extensive knowlege of poisons which it has a history of using to dispose of its enemies.
It is now confirmed that he was poisoned.
Check the pic out. Nasty.
Personally, I think there could be a lesson to be leaned here. A couple of 'em.
leaned-learned
hopefully we won't see our own domestic leftists adopt similar tactics in the near future.
Rare illness? Yeah, sure! You can be sure that if the Dems could get away with this sort of crap in this country, George Bush would be dead with a rare illness.
Well in the old days, they couldn't run to an Austrian Clinic. (London or Paris) They were prisoners. I guess some of the old commies forgot, with freedom comes the ability to go to a REAL hospital.
Ping for more from your favorite Austrian doctors. *along with the US and UK.
I know you trust these Austrians so this is the article for you.
Great post Jokelahoma!!! He's the new Rasputin.. Great Analogy!
Poisoning ping
Did you ever see the pictures posted over on Drudge of his face before and after? I've never seen such a dramatic change in anyone.
If we really wanted to freak out Hollywood (and who wouldn't like that!), we could send those two side by side pictures to our leftist friends and make them fear the terrorists could do this to their faces!
Yeah that would scare the ykw out of them.
Throw him in the river.
I didn't see the "before" pics but certainly have since him since. And we think our campaign season is rough.
LOL!
Are those actual before-and-after pictures? Unbelievable!
Those changes could not have been caused by bad sushi.
The poor man looks dreadful. No use in pointing fingers and making allegations until there are actual suspects.
Anyone know what his politics are? Is he a nationalist? A liberal? A conservative? Populist? Drug dealer from Mars?
Prayers for his recovery.
Why must you find a way to demean other nations even when working in cooperation? If this is patriotism I want no part of it. Especially since I am about 10% Austrian myself.
Oh my goodness, are those pix for real? How horrible!
Ping
Reminds me of Jaws--"This was no boating accident!"
I will take door #1
It would raise questions about whether the poisoning was ordered by Mr Yanukovych, his allies, or even the Kremlin, which fears that Mr Yushchenko will take Ukraine out of its sphere of influence by joining Nato and the EU.
Don't let the rasPutin to take you out for lunch!!
It could be detrimental to your health.
Nothing new, commies were "taking care" of nationalists, oposition for ages. Some don't make it through the "cold", some are "lucky" to escape with deformed face.
That's funny :-)
holy crap. Will his face ever get better??
what a metamorphosis. I hope they can treat/cure him. Chances are the poison did systemic damage and they'll have to treat his internal organs which probably resemble his skin. Saying they'll know in five days approx. what the substance was.
BEFORE
AFTER
WOW!! He was a really good looking guy!! Bless his heart- I can't imagine.
Soros probably paid them to say this. /sarcasm
John Henry, a clinical toxicologist at St. Mary's Hospital in London, told Nature that Yushchenko's disfiguring acne was almost certainly "chloracne," a characteristic symptom of dioxin poisoning.
Hey how many time Rasputin was shot before they throw his a*** in the river
20 times damn I see more bullet shoot off in Godfather 1
Yes, even his skin changed colors to a green pallor. I feel bad for the guy. They want him back to Vienna asap so they can finish the diagnosis. I think the lesions will go away with meds but the cysts might have to be surgically removed. I hope they do a complete body scan while they're at it. He was also in horrible pain. If his opponent did this to him, that guy could be arrested for attempted murder but I bet there are layers of minions separating the two.
I thought they stabbed & poisoned Rasputin to start things off or was that just in the mini-series on him?
I realize that Yushchenko is not perfect (why does it seem that Russia and the former states are so corrupt?) but no one deserves looking handsome one day and looking terrible the next just for his ideals.
Prayers for him and his country. I work closely with two Ukranians and they are worried about their homeland.
bump
He's pro-Western, to the point where he might want to get Ukraine into NATO. STRATFOR did an analysis of the Ukraine election and why Moscow is so desperate over it; run a search.
I don't think anyone knows.
I think it's interesting that when Putin went to Japan in the past week or so, there was a report that not only did he take his own silverware to use when eating, but they made sure to clean it carefully with vodka before he used it.
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