A former high-ranking figure in the Kremlin who stepped down just after Vladimir Putin green lighted the invasion in Ukraine has suddenly become ill with a rare neurological disorder, according to reports.
Anatoly Chubais, Former Chief of the Presidential Administration of Russia and was an influential member of Boris Yeltsin's administration in the early 1990s, fled Russia in March after Putin's "special operation" kicked off in February.
The New York Times reported that specialists in “chemical protection suits” inspected the room where the Belarusian native fell ill.
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Now, Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian television personality and friend of Chubais has reported on Telegram that the high profile figure has Guillain-Barre syndrome, a nervous system disorder that debilitates sufferers.
Sobchak cited a conversation with Chubais's wife, Avdotya Smirnova, who said the 67-year-old had grown numb in his hands and legs, and that he is in intensive care in a hospital in Europe.
He can't walk but he can still talk, a source said.
The mysterious circumstances around the illness will inevitably draw comparisons to that of Alexei Navalny, who was apparently poisoned in 2020.
The Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption activist had been an outspoken critic of Putin.
Alexander Litvinenko was another critic, and Russian defector, who suffered a worse fate, dying in London after being poisoned.
However, Putin denies involvement in both of these incidents, and there is no concrete suggestion that Chubais is sick because of poisoning.
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A source told Reuters that they don't think Chubais has been poisoned.
"I don't think it is poisoning," they said. He's still in intensive care."
"He thinks it's a disease," a second source told Reuters, also on condition of anonymity, referring to Chubais. "Doctors say they found it in time."
A European intelligence agency is looking into the case but has not disclosed the results yet, the source added.
The Kremlin, via a spokesperson, said Chubais's illness was sad and wished him a speedy recovery.
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