“Death Can Wait”: Drugs on the Frontline in Ukraine

Throughout history soldiers have used drugs, sometimes to fight better or to stay alert, or perhaps to help cope with the extreme psychological situation and trauma they are faced with. The current conflict in Ukraine is no different. Concerns around this led to the Ukrainian parliament passing a new law that authorizes random drug and alcohol tests on soldiers. Organized crime is nothing if not adaptable, even in this most extreme environment. The soldiers fighting to protect their homeland represent a new and relatively wealthy market, ripe for criminal networks to exploit. And they are doing just that. So who is behind this market? This is a story about war, drugs, the darknet and corruption.Speaker(s):TedSashaAdditional Reading:(GI Paper) New front lines: Organized criminal economies in Ukraine in 2022Business Insider - Russian lawmakers baselessly claim their army is up against biologically modified Ukrainian super soldiersLiveScience - Nazis Dosed Soldiers with Performance-Boosting 'Superdrug'History - G.I.s’ Drug Use in Vietnam Soared—With Their Commanders’ HelpThe Atlantic - The Drugs That Built a Super SoldierJourneyman Pictures - Sierra Leone's Cocaine-Drugged Child SoldiersGlobal Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - Lebanon’s role in Syria’s Captagon tradeWashington Post - Zelensky takes on Ukraine’s top internal enemyLegatum Institute - Looting Ukraine: The East, the West and the Corruption of a Country (Full Version)Transparency International - Corruption Perceptions IndexUS DoJ Press release - Justice Department Investigation Leads to Shutdown of Largest Online Darknet MarketplaceChainalysis - OFAC Sanctions Hydra Following Law Enforcement Shutdown of the Darknet Market, As Well As Russian Exchange GarantexNational Institute on Drug Abuse - Synthetic Cathinones ("Bath Salts") DrugFactsUNIAN.info - SBU busts major drug lab in Kyiv region in raid against local b