Ukraine Reports Six Telegram-Linked Poisonings of Soldiers, Five Fatal, Carried Out by Ukrainian Women Recruited by Russia

Ukraine’s national police chief Ivan Vyhivskyi stated there have been at least six cases of contract killings arranged on Telegram between Russian operatives and Ukrainian women. Vyhivskyi said the planned murders were organized by the special services of the aggressor state and carried out by Ukrainian citizens. Only one of the assassination cases was prevented.

One of the six cases involved a 17-year-old suspect. Russian recruiters scout young women on messaging platforms, promise them easy money, and coordinate actions remotely, Vyhivskyi said. The young women are instructed to go on adult dating websites and search for Ukrainian military personnel.

Russia provides the women money to rent apartments for the assassinations. The women are instructed on where to obtain methadone, a synthetic opioid that can be lethal in high doses. The women are coached on how to lace servicemen’s drinks with the poison.

A 27-year-old soldier was found dead in a residence in the Zhytomyr region last week. A powdery substance was found in the soldier’s dishware. A 17-year-old girl from Berdychiv was arrested on June 4 in connection with the murder.

The girl told police she was instructed to poison the man by a suspected Russian security services agent over Telegram. The girl received a parcel containing a clear substance believed to be methadone. The girl put the methadone into an alcoholic drink for the serviceman.

The girl left the residence after the soldier fell unconscious and died. More than 1,100 Ukrainians have been accused of committing arson, terrorism or sabotage in acts of betrayal against their country since the war began in February 2022.