This seems straight out of a James Bond scenario, but it is another aspect of the war between Russia and Ukraine. On Tuesday, several Ukrainian media outlets announced that the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, the powerful head of Kiev’s military intelligence service, was hospitalized in serious condition after an attempted poisoning. His life is not in danger, but an investigation into attempted murder has been opened.
Published on: 11/28/2023 – 8:33 p.m. Modified on: 11/28/2023 – 8:34 p.m
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With our correspondent in Kyiv, Stephane Siohan
Kyrylo Budanov, the young head of Ukrainian military intelligence, has become a familiar face to his fellow citizens, as has his wife Marianna, who has notoriously lived in her husband’s over-guarded office since the start of the war in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian website Babel revealed that the young woman was urgently hospitalized a few days ago after an attempted poisoning. According to Valeriy Kondratyuk, the former head of the department headed by Kyrylo Budanov, doctors allegedly found traces of heavy metals in his body, including arsenic and mercury.
According to Kondratyuk’s revelations, the poisoning was administered through food and also affected Marianna Budanova’s bodyguards as well as several high-ranking officers, including heads of the various departments responsible for anti-Russia operations within the Main Intelligence Directorate.
On Tuesday, the spokesman for the military intelligence service HUR confirmed this information in a context in which Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian special operations, has become a priority target for the Russians.
Kyrylo Budanov was injured in a car bombing before the war and saw several Russian missiles hit his government. He has already escaped at least ten elimination attempts.
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