Ukraine's intelligence chief says Russia plans another assassination attempt on him

He made the statement in an interview with BBC Ukraine.

"They are now planning the thing (assassination attempt - ed.), but, like previous times, they will not succeed... It's in the interests of the Russians, it's true. They are Russians, in the interests of Russians. They plan to attract people here as well. This is normal, operational work for them," Budanov said.

He also spoke about the poisoning of his wife Marianna. According to him, the perpetrators have not yet been found, but "there is progress."

"Arrests? That’s not being serious. I never engage in these games. But given that it involves my wife, it won’t just simply go away" said the intelligence chief.

He added that his wife was stabilized and most of the toxins were removed.

Budanov believes that his wife was the target of the assassination attempt, and Russia correctly assessed her influence.

"Their logic is clear - my wife is very important to me. That's all. And they correctly assessed her influence," he emphasized.

• Earlier, Budanov said that he knew who was behind the poisoning of his wife Marianna and said that retaliatory actions would be taken on Russia’s territory.