The wife of Ukraine’s military spy chief has been poisoned with heavy metals and is undergoing treatment, the Kyiv government has revealed .
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, or GUR, said Marianna Budanova, wife of Kyrylo Budanov, was receiving treatment in hospital.
“Yes, I can confirm the information. Unfortunately, it is true,” GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters on Tuesday without clarifying when the poisoning occurred or who was responsible.
Budanov has become a celebrated figure in Ukraine for his role in planning clandestine operations against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Yusov said this year that Budanov had survived 10 assassination attempts by Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB.
It is not yet immediately clear who was behind the suspected poisoning of his wife, but Yusov said that other GUR officials have experienced milder poisoning symptoms.
Russia has previously been accused of poisoning dissidents, including politician Alexey Navalny and two Russian exiles who attended a summit in Berlin organised by a critic of Russia.
Moscow has also blamed Ukraine for suspected involvement in the killings of a pro-war Russian blogger and a pro-war journalist on Russian soil, an allegation Ukraine denies.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, its invasion has resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and displacement of millions .
