Truth About the Wild Drug-Taking and Illegal Booze on Ukraine’s Front Lines

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyKHARKIV, Ukraine—Fighting on the front lines has taken a disastrous turn for the worse after Russia broke through Kharkiv’s line of defense on May 10. Throughout Eastern Ukraine, the brutal repercussions of the six-month-long pause in new U.S. aid led to massive losses on the battlefield. Ukrainian soldiers risking their lives for their country are suffering from physical and psychological trauma. With few ways to decompress from the all-encompassing effects of war, many are turning to drugs and alcohol as a way to cope, which has plunged the military even deeper into darkness.Alcohol is banned in Donbas, the region that has been the epicenter of the war, and all stores and restaurants are forbidden from selling it, but still it makes its way to the front lines via off-rotation soldiers, volunteers, smugglers who charge outlandish prices, or journalists, who bring it in as a peace offering before they begin their interviews.Multiple soldiers who spoke to The Daily Beast claim that some of those defending Ukraine are also abusing illegal substances that they buy through shady online businesses run by the country’s mafia. Some, they say, are drunk at military positions. The men claim that some of their comrades have been so drunk or high that they have killed civilians, soldiers, and animals in a blind rage or while driving under the influence.Read more at The Daily Beast.