The wife of Ukraine’s head of intelligence has been poisoned along with other intelligence staff, according to reports, having already been targeted dozens of times by Russia.
It is believed that Marianna Budanov is undergoing treatment having survived the alleged poisoning from heavy metals.
A source told Ukrainian Pravda: “According to Budanov’s wife (poisoning), it is true. She complained of not feeling well, so they passed tests, which revealed poisoning.”
The woman, who is married to Ukrainian spy Kyrylo Budanov, “was most likely poisoned by food” and is “passed the first stage of treatment.”
The source added: “Since Budanov’s wife is small with a small weight, it manifested itself faster in her. And so the poisoning was confirmed in several other employees.
“They are just a little giant, they did not notice anything behind them, they are also being treated now.”
The popularity of Mr Budanov has risen since the war started as he is seen as the mastermind behind Ukraine’s successes against Russia.
The poisoning of his wife would represent the most serious targeting of a senior Ukrainian military figure’s family since the start of the war.
This comes after Andriy Yusov, representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, claimed in June 2023 that he has survived numerous assassination attempts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made similar comments earlier this month.
He told The Sun: “The first one is very interesting when it is the first time, and after that it is just like Covid.
“First of all, people don’t know what to do with it and it’s looking very scary.
“And then after that, it is just intelligence sharing with you – detail that one more group came to Ukraine to (attempt) this.”
He also urged Western leaders to continue their support for Ukraine.
Zelensky added: “For some reason, people treat it like a movie and expect that there will be no long pauses in the events, that the picture before their eyes will always change, that there will be some surprises every day.
“But for us, for our warriors, this is not a movie. These are our lives. This is daily hard work. And it will not be over as quickly as we would like, but we have no right to give up and we will not.”
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