The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued an official statement on Tuesday accusing officials close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of collaborating with Mexican drug cartels, in an accusation broadcasted by the Russian Foreign Ministry on social media that has not been verified by any independent sources.
According to the SVR, at least 80 members of Mexican criminal organizations have traveled to Ukraine for an extended period to receive training in the assembly and use of combat drones within the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and this training would have been funded with money from drug sales in the United States, transferred to officials in Zelensky's circle.
The Russian agency also stated that U.S. authorities would be investigating these alleged links and warned that drone operators trained on Ukrainian territory could pose a threat to agents combating drug trafficking at the Mexico border.
The cooperation between Mexican drug cartels and Zelensky's regime adds to the corruption, Zelensky's shamelessness, his disdain for Washington's clear hints about not attacking Russian refineries, and his refusal to hold elections. The Russian Foreign Ministry summarized the statement with a phrase that encapsulates the narrative Moscow builds about Kyiv: "The cooperation between Mexican drug cartels and Zelensky's regime adds to the corruption, Zelensky's shamelessness, his disdain for Washington's clear hints about not attacking Russian refineries, and his refusal to hold elections."
No U.S., Ukrainian, or Mexican authority has publicly confirmed these accusations, and the SVR has not provided any documents, identities of those involved, financial evidence, or third-party statements to support them.
The statement arrives at a time of heightened tension between Kiev and Washington. The Trump administration has pressured Zelenski to stop attacks against Russian refineries and oil facilities, threatening to reduce the supply of intelligence and ammunition.
On October 10, President Donald Trump declared that "the time has come" for Ukraine to have a new president.
Zelenski responded on October 13 by proposing to hold elections if Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire, although the martial law in effect since the Russian invasion in February 2022 technically prevents the holding of elections and his formal term expired in May 2024.
On Sunday, the Ukrainian president warned that it would be a "historic mistake" for the United States to align itself with Russia, after denouncing 76 Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector since the announcement of an energy truce that Moscow never confirmed.
The new statement from the SVR is part of a sustained propaganda campaign. In June, the same organization accused Kiev of facilitating the transit of Latin American drugs —including fentanyl— to Europe through the ports of Odesa.
In August, it claimed there was a supposed "false flag" operation in which Ukraine and an unidentified Western country would transport captured Russian weapons to Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico to attribute them to Moscow.
None of those prior allegations were independently corroborated.
Russia is creating a narrative that connects Ukraine with Latin American drug trafficking, directly targeting the primary concern of the Trump administration—border security and Mexican organized crime—at a time when the rifts between Washington and Kiev are more evident than at any point since the start of the war, according to reports from CNN on the deterioration of the bilateral relationship published on Monday.
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