Four years on, no clues in Yushchenko poisoning

After a four-year investigation Ukraine admitted today it does not have a single suspect for the attempted murder of President Viktor Yushchenko.

Mr Yushchenko, then an opposition presidential candidate, fell gravely ill during the 2004 election campaign and was later diagnosed with massive dioxin poisoning, which left his face disfigured.

The president claims he knows who masterminded the crime but refuses to name names. He accuses Russia of refusing to extradite key figures in the case or provide Russian-made dioxin samples for tests.

A spokesman for the Prosecutor General’s Office said today that investigators have so far failed to identify any suspects – comments that raise questions about the effectiveness of the probe.

Many point the finger at Russia, because Mr Yushchenko was running against a Kremlin-backed candidate and because Russia is one of the few countries that produces the dioxin of the formula found in his body.