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KYIV – The wife of Ukraine’s military intelligence chief has been hospitalized after suffering heavy metal poisoning, a senior Ukrainian official said Tuesday.
Marianna Budanova, who is married to Ukrainian military spy Kyrylo Budanov, is undergoing treatment after a long illness, local media reported.
“The information corresponds to reality; “An investigation is underway, including internal investigations,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry’s intelligence directorate, confirmed in a statement. “[Her] Life is currently out of danger, but medical monitoring will continue for some time.”
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Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian news site, reported that several other agency employees were also exposed to the poisoning but showed no symptoms.
Ukrainian media outlet Babel also reported that an investigation was underway into who may have targeted Budanova.
Heavy metal poisoning could refer to substances such as mercury or arsenic. Exposure can cause symptoms such as vomiting, fever and life-threatening organ failure.
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Russia and Ukraine have carried out targeted killings of opponents. Several Russian political opposition figures, including Alexei Navalny, have become seriously ill after an apparent poisoning, allegedly by an assassination squad from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service, the SBU, has carried out covert attacks on key figures in Russia, including a car bomb that killed Daria Dugina, the adult daughter of Russian nationalist Alexander Dugin.
Budanov has reportedly survived at least ten assassination attempts, including an attempted car bombing. His wife, who trained as a psychologist and previously worked for Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, moved into his office when the war began.
Budanov famously correctly predicted the full-scale invasion of Russia, including plans to capture Kiev.
Some 21 months later, he and his wife are believed to still be living in his office – although the capital is generally safe and the heaviest fighting is currently taking place in the south and east of the country.
Some of the fiercest fighting is taking place in the Kharkiv region, near the once-occupied city of Kupiansk.
More fighting is taking place in the eastern city of Avdiivka, where Russia has sent large numbers of soldiers in recent months to wrest more land from Ukrainian forces.
This was announced by the British Ministry of Defense in an intelligence report This week, Russian forces said they had suffered thousands of casualties.
Meanwhile, Finland announced on Tuesday that it would close its last remaining border crossing with Russia overnight from Wednesday to Thursday after a wave of migrants crossed the border in recent days in what the Interior Ministry described as a “Russian hybrid operation.”
“This is a question of national security,” Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said on Tuesday. The border will remain closed until December 13th.
Morgunow reported from Warsaw.