On 29 June, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a statement alleging that Ukrainian authorities are deliberately facilitating the transit of narcotics from Latin America to Europe. According to the SVR press bureau, ports in the Odesa region have become the primary transshipment point for drug shipments moving through Poland, Moldova, and Romania. The agency claimed that Ukrainian security structures are "consciously conniving" at the growth of this traffic.

The SVR asserted that the government in Kyiv, which it described as "mired in corruption," is motivated by a desire for additional income and values the assistance of Latin American cartels in recruiting what it termed "mercenaries" for the Ukrainian armed forces. The statement also said that leading criminal groups from Latin America, facing a heightened anti-drug campaign in the United States, view Ukraine as a safe corridor to the European market because of inadequate border and customs controls. The SVR further noted that access to Ukraine's illicit arms market is attractive to the cartels. Kyiv did not immediately respond to the allegations.

The claims build on a series of earlier accusations from Russian state bodies. In May, Russia's Security Council alleged that Ukraine was spreading drugs in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, and the Interior Ministry has repeatedly pointed to a rise in synthetic drug supplies from Ukraine. Russian officials have asserted that Ukrainian security forces were involved in setting up underground drug laboratories inside Russia. Russian courts have convicted individuals for operating trafficking channels from Ukraine, including a Moscow resident in October 2023 and two organizers of an interregional supply route in Novosibirsk in January 2024. Separately, Mexican authorities, with US support, have recently conducted operations against major cartels, including the arrest of a regional CJNG leader in April and the killing of the cartel's top figure in February.

The SVR's communication comes amid a series of public statements on diverse topics, as noted by Russian media. The agency has previously accused Ukrainian intelligence of buying Russian Telegram channels, criticised Serbia for arms supplies to Kyiv, and denounced the Ecumenical Patriarch. The latest statement provided no evidence to support its claims. The dossier remains at the level of an intelligence allegation; no international body has verified the assertions, and Moscow has not announced any further steps such as a formal complaint to international organisations.