Suspected Russian Poisonings Spark Concerns and Condemnation.
Former US ambassador to Ukraine, John Herbst, experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The FBI began an investigation into the "sharp deterioration" in Herbst's health at the time. The Atlantic Council, where Herbst is a senior director, said that although he has since recovered to "full health, in April 2021 he grew ill and experienced symptoms that could have been consistent with poisoning, including elevated levels of toxins in his blood." The think tank said it worked with federal law enforcement on the matter, who later also took a blood sample from Herbst, and the lab results failed to detect toxic compounds. Multiple Russian opposition figures and Kremlin critics have been poisoned during Putin's reign.