Ukrainian Police Detain 17-Year-Old Girl Accused of Aiding Russian Poison Plot That Killed Two Soldiers

A 17-year-old girl has been detained by Ukrainian police on suspicion of assisting Russia's security services in a poisoning operation that killed two Ukrainian soldiers. According to a police statement, the unnamed teenager packaged lethal drugs and mailed them to soldiers she had contacted through Telegram, allegedly acting on instructions from a Russian handler. Officers arrested her in Zhytomyr, a city west of Kyiv, and said she received at least 5,000 hryvnias — about US$111 — for carrying out the task. The two soldiers died after consuming what were described as 'free drugs' laced with a fatal dose of methadone. The announcement was made on Friday. Since the war began in 2022, Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly accused one another of enlisting minors to carry out sabotage, including poisoning. The case is the latest in a series of alleged recruitment efforts targeting young people.