Lutsenko: Yushchenko could have been poisoned with dioxin through the skin during a massage

Former Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko has put forward a new hypothesis regarding the mechanism of former President Viktor Yushchenko's poisoning. According to the former head of the Prosecutor General's Office, the toxic substance — dioxin — could have been rubbed into the skin during a massage, with the perpetrator being a masseur who subsequently disappeared.

The masseur theory and the disappearance

In an interview with the YouTube channel "Dumay" (Think), Lutsenko said that on the day of the poisoning, Yushchenko was in Chernihiv Oblast. The politician was a guest of one of the heads of the "Fokstrot" supermarket chain, whose surname the former Prosecutor General did not disclose. During a conversation focused on politics, the businessman offered Yushchenko a massage session.

«А як ви знаєте, такі речі, як діоксин... Навіть більш вірогідно, що вони втираються через тіло. І хто дивиться документальні фільми часів В'єтнамської війни, там це називалося Orange agent. Оце те, що розпилювали над В'єтнамом, страшні пухирі по всьому тілу і так далі» (As you know, things like dioxin... It is even more likely that they are rubbed in through the body. And those who watch documentaries from the Vietnam War era, it was called Orange agent there. That is what was sprayed over Vietnam, terrible blisters all over the body and so on), Lutsenko emphasised.

The former Prosecutor General added that after the procedure was completed, the masseur immediately disappeared. No one saw him again, and law enforcement agencies later even conducted a search for him.

David Zhvania's role and the chronology of events

According to Lutsenko, both meetings that preceded the incident — with Smeshko and with the anonymous businessman — were initiated by former People's Deputy David Zhvania. These meetings took place outside the official schedule, based on verbal agreements.

Doctors confirmed that the poisoning occurred the day before, not several days or months prior. Lutsenko also noted that a few days before the poisoning, a person arrived in Ukraine from Russia, whose use of a telephone line coincided with Zhvania's locations. Although there is much indirect evidence of Zhvania's involvement, the former Prosecutor General emphasised that Yushchenko did not distance himself from Satsiuk, but rather gave him a painting.

At the same time, Lutsenko noted that, according to the official version of the investigation, there is insufficient evidence to charge a specific individual with poisoning Yushchenko.

Key figure in the case: Volodymyr Satsiuk

Volodymyr Satsiuk, who held the position of First Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine from April to December 2004, is one of the central figures in this case. On the evening of 5 September 2004, a dinner took place at his dacha, after which the presidential candidate felt the first symptoms of illness.

After the 2005 Orange Revolution, Satsiuk left for Russia, where he obtained citizenship of that country. This prevented Ukrainian law enforcement from detaining him. The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine placed him on the international wanted list. In March 2007, the Ukrainian Interpol bureau officially terminated his international search.