(StraightNews.org) – The wife of a senior Ukrainian official is being treated for poisoning, according to the country’s intelligence agency. Marianna Budanova is the wife of Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s intelligence services (GUR), and was reportedly hospitalized in Kyiv, but few details were made available. A statement from GUR did not speculate on who may have been responsible but said it assumed the poisoning occurred via food or drink ingestion.
Budenova once called for Ukrainian troops to “keep killing Russians anywhere on the face of this world until the complete victory of Ukraine,” and her illness reportedly occurred weeks after Russian officials said they intended to pursue terrorism charges against her and others, including Chief Budanov, Ukrainian Naval Forces Commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa, and 383rd Unmanned Aviation Brigade Commander Serhiy Burdenyuk.
Radio Free Europe said Mrs. Budenova is at the end of a successful course of treatment. It also said the poisoning was caused by “heavy metals” that are “not used in everyday life or for military purpose.”
In an interview with Elle Magazine, Budenova spoke of repeated attempts on her husband’s life, saying there had been ten such attempts since 2014. The couple lives at his office, though she does not work there and is a qualified psychologist.
Moscow denies involvement in the poisoning and blamed Ukrainian infighting. Russia does, however, have a long and notorious history of poisoning opponents, which dates back to the pre-Soviet Era. Communist leader Vladimir Lenin ordered the creation of poison factories known as “Special Rooms,” where gulag prisoners underwent experimental poisonings.
Some historians believe Joseph Stalin used Lenin’s methods to kill him. Vladimir Lenin’s death remains shrouded in mystery, but he is known to have suffered several strokes and had unusually hardened blood vessels in his brain when he died. Russian historian Lev Lurie believes poison was the cause. He said Lenin initially supported Stalin but later changed his allegiance to Trotsky, prompting Stalin to end his life.
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