Wife of Ukraine’s military spy chief hospitalised after being poisoned with ‘heavy metals’
28 November 2023, 13:48 | Updated: 28 November 2023, 14:00
The wife of Ukraine's spy chief, Lt Gen Kyrylo Budanov has been poisoned with "heavy metals", according to local media.
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Marianna Budanova, 30, reported feeling unwell for a "prolonged period of time", and was taken to hospital, according to Babel, quoting intelligence officials.
Two other Ukrainian media publishers have published similar information, relying on their own sources.
Ukraine's military intelligence has not publically commented on the alleged attacks and reports have not said whether they think Russia was behind the poisoning.
Ukrainska Pravda did say that many other intelligence officials have been poisoned but there were no suggestions that Gen Budanov may have been targeted.
However, if it is confirmed as deliberate, the alleged poisoning of Ms Budanova would be the most serious targeting of a high-profile Ukrainian leadership figure's family since February 2022, when Moscow started its invasion.
Babel, who reported the poisoning on Tuesday, said that Mrs Budanova was completing a course of treatment and would be continuously monitored by doctors.
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Their source, an unnamed official in the Ukrainian intelligence, added that Ms Budanova was poised by substances that were "not used in any way in everyday life or military operations."
No further details were provided.
Pravada news, quoting its own sources, said Mrs Budanova's poisoning had been confirmed after tests and that she had most likely been given poisoned food.
The news outlet added that she was now "feeling better" after a round of treatment.
In addition, Ukraine's Unian news agency quoted their sources and said Mrs Budanova was being treated at a Ukrainian hospital, not abroad.
Mrs Budanova was born in 1993 in Kyiv and gained a master's degree in psychology, before becoming involved in politics.
She later became an adviser to the mayor of Kyiv.
In 2022, she spoke to Elle magazine and said she worked as a volunteer in Kyiv's military hospital for two years from 2015.
Lt Gen Budanov, 37, told the War Zone website, in September, that his wife had been staying in his office "since the February invasion" for safety reasons.
He added: "She's [Marianna] actually a professor at our national police academy.
"She's teaching legal psychology. It's not a problem for her as it might have been for someone else."
There have been over 10 assassination attempts against Gen Budavov, Sentior DIU official Andriy Yusov said to Ukrainska Pravda earlier this year.
