Zhytomyr Suspect: Teen Hired for 5,000 Hryvnias to Poison Soldiers

A 17-year-old girl was detained in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, after police said she mailed lethal doses of methadone to soldiers who believed they had received free pharmaceuticals.

Ukrainian authorities announced the arrest on Friday. The suspect was taken into custody in the city west of Kyiv. Police stated she acted under the direction of a Russian security service handler. She was promised a payment of at least 5,000 hryvnias, roughly 111 dollars, for her cooperation.

Investigators say the girl contacted soldiers through the messaging app Telegram. She packaged the capsules and sent them to recipients who were told to ingest the medication while recording themselves on camera. Police stated that the recipients did not know the capsules contained a lethal amount of methadone. Two soldiers in the Zhytomyr region died from the poisoning.

Police reported that investigators identified four other individuals who had received the packages. Authorities said this identification prevented four additional deaths across the country. The suspect now faces charges for aiding and abetting the premeditated murder of two people. She is also suspected of distributing drugs and psychotropic substances. If found guilty, she could face a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

Police warned that the operation aimed to kill Ukrainian personnel and destabilize the domestic situation. They urged the public to avoid accepting medication, food, or drinks from unfamiliar sources. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Russia of recruiting minors for sabotage acts since the war began in 2022. Authorities have opened thousands of investigations into alleged collaboration with Moscow.

Poisoning incidents have occurred previously during the conflict. In 2023, Ukrainian officials accused Russian intelligence of poisoning the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, who was then the head of military intelligence. Several other intelligence service members were diagnosed with the same substance. That same year, Paris prosecutors investigated the poisoning of a Russian journalist. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The Sun in an interview that he has survived five or six assassination attempts since the invasion began.