Alongside the military conflict on its front, a less visible but particularly worrying crisis is developing: the widespread use of drugs and psychoactive substances by the soldiers of both sides.
The protracted duration of the conflict, psychological exhaustion, extreme combat conditions and easy access to synthetic drugs have created an environment where substance use is now considered an almost daily occurrence, as on the 3,500 km front line hundreds of thousands of combatants operate under constant pressure, often without adequate psychological or medical support.
Extensive problem in Russia and Ukraine
The figures reflect the seriousness of the situation. An analysis of 133 Russian soldiers treated at the Novosibirsk psychiatric hospital between 2022 and 2024 found that 61% suffered from mental disorders related to the use of psychoactive substances — the most common diagnosis among the cases.
The picture in the Ukrainian armed forces is equally worrying. According to a survey by the NGO 100% Life Rivne Network, 38% of Ukrainian soldiers had used amphetamines in the past three months, while about two-thirds said they had smoked cannabis.
Why soldiers turn to substances
Experts point out that the reasons are multiple. For some soldiers, drugs act as an escape mechanism from psychological trauma and constant exposure to violence. Others use them to deal with insomnia, exhaustion, or even boredom between missions.
As the war now enters its fifth year, many soldiers have taken part in operations of unprecedented intensity, some of the largest recorded in Europe since World War II, in conditions that create extreme mental strain.
Amphetamines, “salts” and anxiolytics
Alcohol remains the most common substance, followed by cannabis and anti-anxiety drugs. However, stimulant use is also on the rise.
Particularly popular among soldiers are amphetamines, mephedrone and alpha-PVP, also known as “bath salts”. All of these are used to keep soldiers awake, alert and more willing to take risks on the battlefield.
But the effects are serious: high dependence, psychotic episodes, collapse of mental health and severe withdrawal symptoms.
Meanwhile, Russian expert Alexei Lakhov told Al Jazeera that the use of prescription drugs, such as barbiturates and Lyrica-type anxiolytics, has reached uncontrollable proportions among Russian troops.
He said the drugs are easily sold over the counter in some towns near the front, with soldiers buying large quantities and distributing them to their units.
Trading via Telegram and cryptocurrencies
Otherwise, drug trafficking in war zones has fully adapted to modern technology. In both Russia and Ukraine, orders are placed through messaging apps and often paid for in cryptocurrency, Al Jazeera reports.
The substances are delivered either through “dead drops” — hidden delivery points — or directly near the trenches, with prices soaring because of the danger traffickers face in war zones.
According to the Russian independent publication Verstka, during the Russian occupation of Kherson in 2022, armed men in uniform kidnapped local drug dealers and tortured them in order to reveal details of their warehouses and trafficking channels on Telegram.
A market that grows in the midst of war
The 2023 Global Organized Crime Index recorded the largest increase in the global synthetic drug market in Ukraine. Between 2021 and 2023, the relevant market grew by 4.5 units — a development directly attributable to wartime conditions.
Field research by GI-TOC’s Illicit Markets and Conflict in Ukraine Observatory concludes that frontline drug use is now widespread and ever-increasing.
The use of substances in war is not a new phenomenon
However, history has shown that the use of psychoactive substances on the battlefield is a timeless feature of wars.
During World War II, the Nazis used extensively, among other things, Pervitin, a form of methamphetamine administered to soldiers of all branches. Front-line soldiers called the pills “Panzerschokolade” — “tank chocolate” — because of the sense of power and invincibility they gave them.
Similarly, in the Vietnam War, the US military distributed dexedrine amphetamines, so-called “pep pills” en masse, so that soldiers could remain in a state of combat readiness for days.
More recently in the Middle East, the stimulant captagon has evolved into a key war drug. It is often called the “jihadist drug” due to its widespread use by ISIS fighters, with its trafficking one of the most important sources of revenue for Assad’s Syria.
