Wife of Ukraine's High-ranking Military Intelligence Official Hospitalized with Suspected Heavy Metal Poisoning
The wife of Ukraine's top military intelligence official falls victim to heavy metals poisoning, prompting hospitalization, as confirmed by Ukrainian and western officials
Ukraine's top military intelligence official's wife has been hospitalized with suspected heavy metals poisoning, as reported by Ukrainian and Western officials. Marianna Budanova, the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, is connected to the military intelligence agency GUR, deeply involved in Ukraine's efforts to remove Russia from its territory. Western officials are concerned that Russian agents may have bribed a staff member to execute the poisoning.
Ukrainian Defense Intelligence personnel have also fallen ill, according to agency spokesman Andriy Yusov. Ukraine is currently conducting an investigation into the situation. Although American and western intelligence officials have not confirmed the poisoning independently, sources familiar with the matter have stated that they believe the Ukrainian reports to be accurate.
Budanova's condition was not immediately apparent, but according to a GUR representative, she had been hospitalized for a week and had been feeling unwell for some time before that. A source with Defense Intelligence, speaking to CNN on the condition of anonymity, revealed that Budanova had tested positive for arsenic and mercury. CNN has reached out to Budanova for comment.
Dr. Edward Boyer, the chief of the University of Massachusetts Medical School's toxicology division, stated that without a more detailed understanding of the test results and patient history, including symptoms and potential exposure to certain foods, it is impossible to judge the likelihood that any of the victims were deliberately poisoned.
"It's crucial to identify the specific symptoms, as different metals have varying levels of toxicity," Boyer explained. "Obtaining an environmental exposure history, as well as a dietary intake history, along with accurate symptoms, is essential."
Russia, and the Soviet Union before it, has a history of conducting poisonings outside its borders. In 2018, Russian agents used a nerve agent to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for British intelligence agencies. Back in the 1950s, the KGB used thallium - a heavy metal found in rat poisons and insecticides - to poison one of its own agents who had defected to the United States.
During the March 2022 Ukraine-Russia talks in Turkey, a Russian billionaire and two Ukrainian negotiators experienced minor skin peeling and sore eyes, according to a source close to the Ukrainian negotiation team who spoke to CNN at the time. Initial reports suggested poisoning as the cause, but later reports clarified that the sickness was due to an environmental factor, not poisoning.
