Ukrainian police say a 17-year-old girl was detained in Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, for allegedly mailing methadone to soldiers on FSB instructions.
Police say two soldiers died in Zhytomyr region and that the poisoning of four more was prevented after further recipients were identified.
The girl faces up to 15 years in prison for complicity in premeditated murder by an organised group and drug trafficking, according to the police account.
Ukraine's National Police announced on Friday, 23 October, the arrest of a 17-year-old girl suspected of poisoning Ukrainian soldiers on behalf of Russia. Investigators say she mailed narcotics containing what police describe as lethal doses of methadone to servicemen she had contacted through Telegram. According to the police account, she acted on instructions from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). Police said she packed the substances herself and posted them with false information about the sender. The girl was detained in Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, the same region where police say the two soldiers died.
Police said the girl had been promised at least 5,000 hryvnias, roughly 100 euros, for the work. Once the packages arrived, the recipients were pressed to take the substances in front of a camera, according to the statement. The organisers, police said, contacted the soldiers over Telegram and offered them the drugs free of charge. Investigators say the recipients did not know that the packages contained a lethal dose of methadone. By identifying further recipients, police said they had prevented the poisoning of four more soldiers. The two deaths were the only fatalities the statement reported.
The 17-year-old faces up to 15 years in prison for complicity in premeditated murder committed by an organised group, along with trafficking in illicit substances, according to the reports. Police urged soldiers and their relatives to be careful with unknown contacts. They advised against accepting medicines, food or drinks of uncertain origin from people they do not know well. Police also warned that anyone offering help, sending gifts or pressing for a personal meeting may be carrying out an enemy task. If pressure is applied, the statement said, the correspondence should be kept and the authorities informed.
Ukrainian services say that since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 they have opened thousands of investigations into collaboration with the enemy. They also announce arrests of people suspected of working for Russia on a regular basis. In 2023, Kyiv accused Moscow of poisoning the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, then head of Ukraine's military intelligence. The police warning on this case was published on social media.
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Ukrainian police said on Friday, 23 October, that they had arrested a 17-year-old girl suspected of mailing methadone-laced drugs to soldiers on Russia's behalf. Two soldiers died, and police say four more poisonings were prevented.
AI text based on reports by G4Media.ro, rmf24.pl, Stirile ProTV and other publishers. Published .