Teen held for mailing lethal methadone to six Ukrainian soldiers

Soldiers across Ukraine are being told to be wary of free medication after a 17-year-old girl was detained in Zhytomyr for mailing lethal doses of methadone to military personnel. The arrest marks the latest incident in a series of poisonings linked to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.

Police announced the detention on Friday. The unnamed suspect was caught in the city of Zhytomyr, located west of the capital Kyiv. Authorities stated she was paid at least 5,000 hryvnias, roughly $111, for completing the tasks. The money was provided by a Russian handler who gave her specific instructions on how to proceed.

The suspect contacted soldiers through the messaging app Telegram. She promised them free drugs and asked them to film themselves taking the capsules. The recipients believed they were receiving standard medication, not realizing the packages contained a fatal amount of methadone. Two soldiers in the Zhytomyr region died from the poisoning.

Investigators said they identified four other people who received the packages. Police stated that identifying these recipients prevented four additional deaths across the country. The suspect now faces charges of aiding and abetting premeditated murder under a prior conspiracy. She is also suspected of distributing drugs and psychotropic substances.

If found guilty, the 17-year-old faces a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. Ukrainian police said the scheme was designed to kill their people and destabilize the country. They urged the public to avoid accepting food, drinks, or substances from people they do not know well.

This case fits a pattern of accusations exchanged by both sides during the war, which began in 2022. Both Ukraine and Russia have claimed that the other recruits minors for sabotage acts, including poisonings. Ukrainian authorities have opened thousands of investigations into suspected collaboration with Moscow and regularly arrest individuals accused of working for the Russian state.

Previous high-profile poisonings have also drawn international attention. In 2023, Ukraine accused Russia of poisoning the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, then head of military intelligence. Paris prosecutors also opened an investigation into the poisoning of a Russian journalist that year. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed he has survived at least five or six assassination attempts since the invasion began.