A woman recruited by the FSB killed a soldier
Russian intelligence agencies have launched a scheme to eliminate Ukrainian servicemen by befriending them on social media and messaging apps. Law enforcement agencies are investigating at least six such cases, which have resulted in the deaths of five servicemen.
One of the victims was 23-year-old soldier Mykyta Orlivivskyi. According to his aunt Tetiana, a few months before his death, an unknown woman messaged him on Telegram. She introduced herself as a resident of Kharkiv, saying that her relatives were fighting in the war and that she herself was living under constant Russian shelling. Their communication quickly turned into a romantic exchange.
The woman regularly asked about the soldier’s life, inquired about his service, and insisted that she wanted to start a family with him. In the young man’s phone, she was saved as “Sweetheart.” Later, their correspondence even included joint photos, which, as the investigation established, had been created using artificial intelligence.
During Mykyta’s brief leave in Zhytomyr, the woman promised to visit him, but at the last minute informed him that she would be unable to come due to alleged problems with her documents. Instead, she mailed him a gift—a bottle of expensive whiskey.
The main condition was that he open the gift during a video call so they could “celebrate” their upcoming meeting together. As law enforcement discovered, a lethal dose of methadone had been injected into the bottle beforehand. After a few shots, the young man began to feel ill. The next day, he was found unconscious in his apartment. Doctors fought to save his life for several days, but they were unable to save the soldier.
According to psychiatrist and addiction specialist Vladislav Sova, methadone is a potent opioid that dissolves easily in strong alcohol without altering its taste or smell. The drug rapidly depresses the respiratory center, causing loss of consciousness, a sharp drop in blood pressure, and respiratory arrest. Without immediate medical attention, the chances of survival are minimal.
The investigation established that the woman who was corresponding with Mykyta was located in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the bottle of poisoned alcohol was sent via a post office in the Poltava region by a 19-year-old Ukrainian man who, according to law enforcement, was also recruited by Russian special services due to his drug addiction.
The National Police report that similar cases have already been recorded in the Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Rivne, and Zakarpattia regions. All the crimes followed a similar pattern: meeting online, establishing a relationship of trust, arranging a face-to-face meeting or sending alcohol, followed by poisoning with methadone.
Andriy Nebitov, Deputy Head of the National Police and Chief of the Criminal Police, explained that in one of the incidents, a 14-year-old girl recruited by the FSB-year-old woman, after drinking alcohol together, followed instructions from her Russian handlers in real time and attempted to strangle an unconscious soldier with a wire from a charger.
In another case being investigated by law enforcement, a suspect from Uzhhorod reported that her social media page had been created entirely by a Russian handler. He selected potential victims, arranged meetings, and rented apartments, while the girl was only supposed to carry out the final step—giving the soldier a drink laced with methadone.
According to police, most of the detained accomplices were drug-dependent. Law enforcement officials note that this is precisely what made them easy targets for recruitment. Russian intelligence agencies find such individuals through Telegram channels and closed groups linked to drug trafficking.
Law enforcement agencies emphasize that the scheme to poison military personnel is relatively new. At the same time, other methods of sabotage previously used extensively by Russian special services are gradually losing their effectiveness. According to police, 257 Ukrainian teenagers have already reported to law enforcement attempts to recruit them for sabotage, and the number of arson attacks on military personnel’s vehicles has decreased significantly this year.
Law enforcement officials are urging military personnel to exercise the utmost caution when making new acquaintances on social media, not to disclose information about their service to strangers, not to accept gifts from people they do not know personally, and to immediately report any suspicious contacts.
All those detained in connection with these criminal cases face life imprisonment.
Source: TSN
Earlier, Robert Brovdi (Madyar), commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, stated that the USF does not tolerate any reprisals against service members for participating in rallies, and promised to investigate reports of possible pressure on those who supported the protests following Mykhailo Fedorov’s resignation.
