Former Ukrainian military intelligence chief says wife of agency’s current head poisoned with arsenic and mercury

Valeriy Kondratyuk, the former head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), said Wednesday that traces of arsenic and mercury were discovered in the system of Marianna Budanova, the wife of current GUR Chief Kyrylo Budanov.

“Regarding the poisoning, I have confidential information that hasn’t been made public yet,” Kondratyuk told the outlet NV. “The poisoning involved heavy metals. The tests revealed metals such as arsenic and mercury. And we know that removing these things from the body takes time.”

He later told journalists from Radio Svoboda that he received this information from his former GUR colleagues.

Kondratyuk also said that poisoning symptoms occurred in multiple GUR employees. “[These are] leaders of specific departments who are directly responsible for the GUR’s operation in Russia,” he added.

Ukrainian intelligence officials previously reported that Budanova had been poisoned with “heavy metals” and was undergoing treatment.