The wife of Ukraine’s spy chief has been hospitalized after someone allegedly poisoned her food.
A spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed the flurry of reports that broke early Tuesday about Marianna Budanova’s condition. The 30-year-old wife of Kyrylo Budanov has indeed been poisoned by heavy metals and is undergoing treatment, Andriy Yusov told Radio Free Europe.
Unnamed intelligence sources cited by Ukrainska Pravda said Budanova is thought to have eaten something containing the poison. Several staffers of the Main Intelligence Directorate were also poisoned but suffered less severe symptoms, according to the report.
Budanov himself is said to be perfectly fine, showing no symptoms of poisoning.
“These substances are not used in any way in everyday life and military affairs,” a source told the Ukrainian news outlet Babel. “Their presence may indicate a purposeful attempt to poison a specific person.”
There is no indication of who attempted the poisoning at this stage, although it is a known tactic favored by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
The independent Russian news outlet Meduza cited Valery Kondratyuk, the former head of the Ukrainian foreign intelligence service, confirming that Budanova is expected to survive.
“I just spoke with Kyrylo Alekseevich, he confirmed the poisoning,” Kondratyuk was quoted saying, adding that “certain organs were affected.”
“Now investigators are working with her, finding out how and under what circumstances the poisoning occurred; the SBU is looking into this,” he said.