Yushchenko blames government for poisoning

OPPOSITION leader Viktor Yushchenko said yesterday that he was sure he was poisoned by the Ukrainian government and believes it most likely happened at a dinner he had with the country’s top security service officials.

Mr Yushchenko’s comments, made in an interview with The Associated Press, were the first time he pinpointed when and where he believed he was poisoned with dioxin. He said it likely happened at a September 5 dinner with the head of the Ukrainian security service, Ihor Smeshko, and his deputy, Volodymyr Satsyuk.

“That was the only place where no one from my team was present and no precautions were taken concerning the food,” he said. “It was a project of political murder, prepared by the authorities.”