Russia is recruiting girls to kill soldiers. Six cases have already been recorded, – Vyhivskyi
Since the start of the year, law enforcement agencies have recorded six cases of contract killings of military personnel ordered by Russian special services via messaging apps. One of these crimes was successfully prevented.
This was stated by the Head of the National Police, Ivan Vyhivskyi, in an exclusive comment to Censor.NET.
What is known?
According to him, Russia has recently been changing its methods and is increasingly using underage girls to commit particularly serious crimes against Ukrainian servicemen.
"Since the start of 2026 alone, the National Police have recorded six cases of contract killings arranged via the Telegram messenger, one of which was successfully prevented. We see a clearly structured scheme being followed by Russian handlers," noted the head of the National Police.
How does the scheme work?
"Through Telegram and other messaging apps, they find young women, promise them easy money and coordinate their actions entirely remotely. In particular, they are tasked with finding military personnel on dating sites and suggesting they spend their free time together; to carry out the crime, the handlers send funds to rent flats, buy alcohol and cover other expenses. And most importantly, the handlers tell the girls the locations of so-called ‘stashes’ where they can obtain methadone," explained Vyhivskyi.
Then, during a supposedly romantic encounter, the soldier is served alcoholic drinks to which methadone has already been added.
"In fact, these are planned murders organised by the special services of the aggressor state through the hands of Ukrainian citizens. The particular cynicism lies in the fact that to carry out their plans, the enemy uses young people who often do not fully realise the consequences or are hoping for a quick profit," noted the head of the National Police.
He also recalled a recent case in the Zhytomyr region, where law enforcement officers detained a 17-year-old girl involved in the murder of a serviceman on the instructions of a Russian handler.
A similar scheme was documented in Kharkiv, where two underage girls, in exchange for money from a client via Telegram, carried out criminal instructions regarding a soldier.
"I wish to emphasise: no promises of reward exempt anyone from criminal liability. Individuals who agree to cooperate with representatives of the aggressor state will be held accountable in accordance with the law. At the same time, it is essential to understand that Russian special services deliberately use such operatives as expendable assets, without concern for their future fate," said Vyhivskyi.
The police are continuing their systematic work to expose such schemes and identify the organisers, supervisors and perpetrators of these crimes.
At the same time, prevention and raising public awareness of such recruitment methods remain extremely important, noted the head of the National Police.
A message to parents
"I urge parents to pay particular attention to their children’s communication on messaging apps, the emergence of unknown sources of income, receiving funds from strangers, sudden trips, renting accommodation or carrying out suspicious tasks. It is young people who are one of the main targets of Russian recruiters today," explained Vyhivskyi.
Warning for military personnel
"I am addressing military personnel separately. Be as cautious as possible when meeting people online and on social media. The enemy actively uses such platforms to gather information, establish contacts and plan crimes. Remain vigilant and report any suspicious situations to the police. Every report of an attempted recruitment, every tip-off about suspicious activity helps to save lives and thwart the enemy’s latest plans," he concluded.
