The wife of Ukraine’s military intelligence chief has been hospitalized after being poisoned by a heavy metal that may have slipped into her food, officials said.
Marianna Budanova, wife of university professor Lt. General Kyrylo Budanov, who heads Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), is completing a course of medical treatment for the effects of poisoning, according to Babel publication.
“Yes, I can confirm the information, unfortunately, it is true,” said GUR spokesman Andriy Yusov, without explaining when the poisoning occurred.
The mysterious substance that is believed to have made Budanova sick “was absolutely not used in daily activities or in military affairs,” a source in the GUR told the outlet. “Their presence may indicate a deliberate attempt to poison certain people.”
Marianna Budanova, the wife of Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, survived the poisoning attempt. M Budanova/e2w Lt. General Kyrylo Budanov, right, who heads Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, has reportedly confirmed that his wife, left, has been hospitalized to be treated for heavy metal poisoning. Reuters
The poison may have been mixed into Budanova’s food, Ukrainska Pravda newspaper reported, citing sources in the country’s security apparatus.
“He complained of feeling unwell, and that’s why they ran some tests that revealed he had been poisoned,” a source was quoted as telling the publication.
Several other GUR operatives were also poisoned, but Budanova became symptomatic first because her weight was much lower than the others, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Valeriy Kondratyuk, the former head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, told the independent Russian newspaper Meduza that he spoke on Tuesday to Budanov, who confirmed his wife’s poisoning.
“Some of his organs have been affected,” revealed Kondratyuk. “At this point, medical treatment has been made; his life is not in danger.”
Budanov, 37, escaped without injury and is said to be in good health. Reuters
Ukrainian authorities are investigating Budanova’s poisoning as attempted murder, according to RBC Ukraine.
Media reports did not make any suggestions about who was behind the alleged poisoning, or explain when it happened.
Kondratyuk floated the idea, without providing any evidence to back it up, that Russian security services may have orchestrated the attempt on Budanova’s life.
Budanov himself was not injured and was said to be “in good health”. The 37-year-old military spy chief is said to have survived at least 10 assassination attempts since the start of the war with Russia, a GUR spokesman said in June.
Marianna Budanova sought medical attention after complaining that she was not feeling well. M Budanova/e2w
In an interview with Radio Freedom earlier this year, Budanov said that he and his wife had been staying in his office and spending 24 hours a day together for security reasons.
“He’s actually a professor at our national police academy,” Budanov told The War Zone website in September. “He teaches legal psychology. It’s not a problem for him as it might be for other people.”
Budanov has been described as the mastermind of numerous covert operations targeting President Vladimir Putin’s forces — and he has previously vowed to “continue to kill Russians everywhere on the face of the earth until the complete victory of Ukraine.”
A former Ukrainian intelligence official suggested that Vladimir Putin’s security services may have been responsible for the poisoning. Getty Images
In April, a Moscow court “arrested” Budanov in absentia on terrorism charges.
Moscow has previously blamed Ukraine’s secret service for the murders of Russian pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky and pro-Kremlin journalist Darya Dugina, both of whom died in explosions on Russian soil. Kyiv denies involvement in the death.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
