Ukraine charges 14-year-old girl over soldier's killing on Russian FSB orders
Ukrainian police say the 14-year-old from Rivne poisoned a 27-year-old soldier with methadone-laced alcohol in January and strangled him during a video call with her Russian handler, who worked for the FSB.
The killing in Rivne
Ukrainian police said the 14-year-old, a resident of Rivne, first poisoned a 27-year-old soldier with alcohol laced with methadone and then strangled him. The soldier had been in contact with her for about ten days through a messaging app before he came to a rented apartment, where she served him the drink. According to police, he lost consciousness on the bed, and the girl then made a video call to her handler and began to strangle him. The plan was detailed, with the apartment rented and the methadone delivered to her in advance by a courier company. The soldier died from the strangulation, and the killing took place in January. In its statement, the Rivne regional police described the sequence in these words:
The 14-year-old resident of Rivne, while in video contact with her handler (from Russian services), on his direct order first poisoned the victim with a mixture of alcohol and a narcotic substance, and then strangled him. The accused is currently in a pretrial detention centre.
Recruitment through Telegram
Police said the girl met her handler on Telegram, a Russian national who acted on behalf of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). She was recruited in autumn 2025, and her first assignments seemed simple: photographing a building and passing on information about troop movements. The handler ordered the killing in early 2026, according to the account. He had promised to arrange her departure to Russian-controlled territory once the task was done. Ukrainian police described how he used her feelings for him:
Since the minor had feelings for her (Russian) handler, he promised that after completing the task he would arrange her departure to territory controlled by Russia.
The timeline below lists the key dates reported in the case.
- Girl is recruited by a Russian handler and given simple tasks such as photographing a building
- Girl sets fire to a Ukrainian military vehicle in Rivne, with 1,000 dollars promised and never paid
- Girl poisons and strangles a 27-year-old soldier in a rented apartment in Rivne
- Police announce the case on Friday and the indictment is sent to court
Arson charge and indictment
The SBU found that in November 2025 the same girl set fire to a military vehicle in Rivne on Russia's orders. The handler had promised her 1,000 dollars for that task, but she never received the money. She is charged with state treason under martial law, obstructing the legal activity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and deliberate destruction of another person's property by arson. The Security Service of Ukraine conducted the proceedings, and the indictment in that case has also been sent to court. Ukrainian police said the girl is in pretrial detention, and as a minor she faces up to 15 years in prison.
A wider pattern
Russian services have recruited teenagers for their operations since the full-scale war began, and their agents have been getting younger, which makes them more vulnerable to manipulation. Methadone has been used repeatedly by agents in recent years to kill Ukrainian soldiers. The drug is a strong opioid that can cause respiratory depression, circulatory collapse and cardiac arrest, which can lead to death. On Friday, the Rivne regional police announced the case, and the indictment is now before the court.
