Marianna Budanova: Kyiv Confirms Poisoning of Intel Chief Budanov’s Wife

Sources in the Ukrainian intelligence community have confirmed to Kyiv Post that the wife of Ukraine’s head of intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, has been poisoned.

When asked to confirm reports that Marianna Budanova had been taken ill, a source in Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) told Kyiv Post: “Unfortunately this is true.”

“She went to the doctor on time, if a week later, the consequences would be more severe,” the source said.

They did not provide further details but according to Babel, Budanova, 30, is currently being treated in the hospital for poisoning with heavy metals.

An investigation is underway into the alleged attempted murder of the Chief of the Defence Intelligence’s (HUR) wife.

Budanov said in August his wife had been living with him "in his office" and had not left his side since the start of the invasion for security purposes.

Russia has been accused on numerous occasions of carrying out assassinations and assassination attempts with poisons involving heavy metals – which are not typically present in lethal quantities in everyday life.

Budanov, a former commando who has carried off a number of daring missions against Russian forces, skyrocketed through the ranks of Ukraine’s military intelligence to become a general by the age of 35.

He himself has been the target of no less than 10 Russian assassination attempts, one of which, a car explosion, left him seriously injured.

Similar topics of Interest Ukrainian Commandos Hint at Kerch Bridge Attack in Daring New Video The Artan unit, an elite unit formed in the first days of the full-scale invasion, has been involved in various daring operations – including securing Snake Island and Boyko Towers in the Black Sea.

In an interview with Radio Svoboda, Budanov said that Marianna lived with him in his Kyiv office.