Ukrainian teen held for luring soldiers to deadly free drugs

At least 5,000 hryvnias, roughly $111, is the amount Ukrainian police say was promised to a 17-year-old girl for her role in a poison plot that killed two soldiers.

The suspect, who remains unnamed, was arrested in Zhytomyr, a city west of the capital Kyiv. Authorities stated she acted on instructions from a Russian handler. Her method involved contacting soldiers through the messaging app Telegram and mailing them packages described as free drugs.

The recipients were told to consume the contents on camera. The capsules contained a lethal dose of methadone, a substance the soldiers did not know they were taking. Two men in the Zhytomyr region died from the poisoning.

Investigators believe the operation was larger than the two fatal cases. They identified other individuals who had received similar packages, a move that prevented four additional murders across the country.

The teen faces charges of aiding and abetting premeditated murder and shipping psychotropic substances for distribution. If found guilty, she could spend up to 15 years in prison.

Police linked the incident to a wider Russian effort to destabilize Ukraine by targeting its military personnel. They urged the public to be cautious about accepting food, drinks, or medication from people they do not know well.

This case fits a pattern of alleged sabotage during the war that began in 2022. Both nations have accused each other of recruiting minors for such tasks. In 2023, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of poisoning the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, then head of military intelligence, along with several of his staff. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also claimed he survived five or six assassination attempts since the invasion began.