Ukrainian Intelligence Head's Wife Poisoned: Allegedly Through Food, Recovering in Hospital

Head of the Ukrainian Intelligence Agency Kyrylo Budanov. (Wikimedia Commons/VOA/Yevheniy Shynkar)

JAKARTA - The wife of Ukraine's military spy chief Marianna has been poisoned with heavy metals and is undergoing treatment in hospital, an agency spokesman said on Tuesday.

"Yes, I can confirm the information, unfortunately, it is true," GUR spokesman Andriy Yusov told Reuters, without explaining when the poisoning occurred, as quoted on November 29.

Marianna Budanova is the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, GUR, which has been heavily involved in covert operations against Russian forces since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The BBC's Ukrainian service quoted Yusov as also saying that some GUR officials also experienced milder symptoms of poisoning.

Media outlet Ukrainska Pravda quoted unnamed sources as saying the poison was most likely administered through food.

Meanwhile, Babel media, citing unnamed sources, said Budanova had been hospitalized and was completing treatment for the effects of the poisoning.

If it was indeed intentional, then the alleged poisoning of his wife would be the most serious targeting of family members of a Ukrainian leader during the 21-month war.

"His condition is now better because he has undergone the first stage of treatment," a source told the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, quoted by The Guardian.

"Budanov's wife is petite and light, so symptoms appeared quickly. Several other [GUR] employees were also poisoned. They have larger bodies and did not see any signs. They are now receiving treatment," he continued.

Budanov himself has been the target of several assassination attempts, including a failed car bomb attempt, since the Russo-Ukrainian war broke out, with him portrayed as a behind-the-scenes figure in the backlash against Russia.

Yusov told Ukrainska Pravda earlier this year that more than 10 assassination attempts had been made on Lt. Gen. Budanov.

In September, Lt. Gen. Budanov told the War Zone website that he and his wife had been living in his office "since the February invasion" in 2022 for security reasons.