The wife of the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service has been poisoned with heavy metals, several Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed intelligence sources.
Marijana Budanov’s wife is Kirill Budanov, who heads Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, which has been heavily involved in covert operations against Russian forces during the 21-month war.
Budanov’s position has strengthened in the Ukrainian public, where he is portrayed as the mastermind of the behind-the-scenes effort to strike back at Russia. In the Russian media, he is presented as a person who sows hatred.
If confirmed to be deliberate, the alleged poisoning of his wife would represent the most serious targeting of a family member of a prominent Ukrainian leader since Russia launched an invasion in February last year.
Ukraine’s military intelligence and domestic security services did not respond to requests for comment, Reuters reports.
