The wife of the Head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kirill Budanova - Marianna Budanova - in December 2024 was secretly taken to the United States to treat the effects of arsenic poisoning and mercury.
This was reported by American journalist Katie Livingston on the social network X, citing several of their own sources.
According to her, Budanova was first affected by poisoning in 2023, then it was stabilized. However, at the end of 2024, her condition deteriorated sharply - experts say that this course is characteristic of heavy metals.
US military doctors, having learned about the situation, offered help, and Marianna Budanov was sent to treatment in the United States. Livingston emphasizes that in Ukraine the opportunities for full treatment of such cases are still limited.
The journalist also reported that the International Bellingcat and Insider Investigative Groups are investigating the circumstances of poisoning.
Last month, Budanova first appeared in public after a long absence.
"Her poisoning - as the wives of one of the key heads of Ukrainian intelligence - and treatment outside Ukraine reiterate how personal and permanent there are threats to those who stand in the forefront, both in a straight and symbolic sense," Livingston notes.
