The wife of Ukraine's spymaster was poisoned with heavy metals and is now recovering in the hospital, say Ukrainian officials. Marianna Budanova, a psychologist, is the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, who heads the GUR military intelligence agency, reports Reuters. Russia has a long history of poisoning its enemies, per the New York Times, but Ukraine is not pointing any fingers just yet. Much about the poisoning is unclear, including whether Budanov might have been the intended target. Several other members of the GUR also had mild symptoms, per the BBC, with the best guess being that the poison was delivered via food.
The Ukrainian news outlet Babel first reported the poisoning, quoting an unnamed official who said the substances used were "not used in any way in everyday life or military operations." Budanova was undergoing treatment and expected to recover. Her husband has said the two of them were living out of his office for some time, partly for safety reasons. Though suspicions turned immediately toward Moscow, the Times quotes a former Ukraine intelligence official who is skeptical about that, given the close proximity that would have been required. Russia "just doesn't have the needed kind of agents on the territory of Ukraine that would be able to poison someone," said Viktor Yahun. (More Ukraine stories.)
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