Russian forces use drugs to maintain frontline morale — Intel
Illustrative photo: Frontline Russian soldiers increasingly rely on drugs (Getty Images)
Russian troops on the front lines are reportedly suffering from severe moral exhaustion due to ongoing strikes by Ukrainian forces, failed assaults, and heavy casualties, with some of them using drugs to cope with the stress, according to Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate.
Intelligence officers intercepted radio communications in which Russian soldiers discussed using opioids to "improve" their psychological condition. In one of them, a soldier asks another if he has any drugs to share.
"Do you happen to have any hidden stash, like trimethyl fentanyl, phenadone, dolophine? To, you know, make these war days lighter, since it is all, psychologically, terrifying," a soldier says.
The Ukrainian Defense Intelligence report notes that Russian soldiers also discussed the possibility of synthesizing drugs "in field conditions," expressing frustration at lacking the necessary chemicals, saying that "paracetamol could only poison" them.
"It is obvious that the constant fire from Ukrainian Defense Forces, catastrophic losses, commanders' arbitrariness, and total absence of prospects can only be 'smoothed over' through drug use—propaganda alone no longer fulfills its purpose," the Defense Intelligence concludes.
Recently, Ukrainian intelligence released further evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces. In intercepted communications, a commander of Colombian mercenaries fighting on Russia's side orders troops to open fire on Ukrainian civilians, including women and children.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate released another intercepted exchange, where Russian soldiers described receiving orders to kill civilians near the Pokrovsk settlement. According to the report, it was what they were doing during the fighting for the city, targeting all civilians they encountered.
