Teenager arrested after mailing lethal methadone to soldiers
Police in Zhytomyr say a 17-year-old girl worked for a Russian handler to poison troops, resulting in two deaths.
By Sarah Montgomery ·
Two Ukrainian soldiers are dead after receiving mailed capsules containing a lethal dose of methadone, according to police in Zhytomyr. The arrests and deaths were announced on Friday by local authorities in the city west of Kyiv.
Police detained a 17-year-old girl who is suspected of executing the plan under the direction of a Russian handler. The suspect was promised a payment of at least 5,000 hryvnias, roughly $111, for her role in the operation. Investigators say she contacted soldiers through the messaging app Telegram, offering them parcels described as free drugs.
The victims were instructed to consume the capsules on camera, a condition the police stated was part of the handler's requirements. The recipients did not know the capsules contained methadone until it was too late. Two soldiers in the Zhytomyr region died from the poisoning, while four other recipients were identified by investigators before they could die.
The young woman has been formally charged with aiding and abetting the premeditated murder of two individuals as part of a prior conspiracy. She also faces charges for shipping drugs and psychotropic substances for distribution. If a court finds her guilty on all counts, she could face a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Police warned that the goal of the operation was to kill Ukrainian personnel and destabilize the country. They urged the public to be cautious about accepting medication, food, or drinks from strangers. Ukrainian and Russian authorities have accused each other of recruiting minors for sabotage acts throughout the war that began in 2022.
This incident follows other high-profile poisoning cases. In 2023, Ukraine accused Russian services of poisoning the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, then head of military intelligence. Several GUR staff were diagnosed with the same substance. That same year, Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into the poisoning of a Russian journalist who had publicly opposed the war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told The Sun newspaper that he has survived at least five or six assassination attempts since the invasion started.
