Names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect identities.

Having fought in Syria, Alexander Medvedev* knew he was likely to be called up when the Russian government announced a partial mobilisation for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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But by the time he reached the front lines in early 2023, serving as a machine gunner in the Ural Battalion, he was struck by what he saw as unprofessionalism.

“I witnessed my squad leader die of an overdose back in the rear area, so you can draw your own conclusions about the quality of recruitment and the contingent in our elite battalion,” the 38-year-old from Kemerovo, in Siberia, told Al Jazeera from an undisclosed location. “A local worker from the abandoned mine where we were billeted was supplying our soldiers with drugs.”

Medvedev is among a group of Russians who are disillusioned with the war and have since deserted.

The squad leader in question had barely served a month in the field when he passed away while guarding an ammunition depot in early 2023. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the cause of death.

“Our valiant command had conducted its own investigation, which largely consisted of torturing [the officer’s] friend and a fellow drug user,” Medvedev continued.

He claimed a commander pressed the victim’s “face against a hot stove”.

After the officer’s death by overdose, Medvedev said, his body was dragged to the battle lines to be reported as killed in action, so that his family would not lose any benefits.

Drug use on the battlefield has long been a feature of warfare.

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But modern technology, the proliferation of synthetic substances, and the deployment of convicted soldiers on both sides – many of whom struggled with substance abuse before the war – means narcotic consumption is common within Ukraine.

An analysis of 133 Russian servicemen treated at a Novosibirsk psychiatric hospital between 2022 and 2024 showed that 61 percent suffered from mental ailments associated with mind-altering drugs, by far the most frequent condition.

The problem also affects Ukraine’s army.

According to a survey by the NGO 100% Life Rivne Network, 38 percent of Ukrainian troops had partaken in amphetamines in the past three months, while two-thirds had smoked cannabis. Some 40 percent had sampled illicit drugs before their deployment.

Medical marijuana or cannabis is legal in Ukraine, but the strains smoked by soldiers are far stronger than what can be lawfully prescribed at a pharmacy.

Experts say soldiers may take drugs for a variety of reasons, for instance, as relief from the horrors of war and the sense of boredom between missions.

With the conflict now entering a fifth year, troops have served some of the longest deployments since World War II, putting them under extreme stress.

Alcohol is the most popular intoxicant, followed by cannabis and anti-anxiety medication.

“The use of prescription medications like barbiturates and anti-anxiety drugs such as Lyrica has become rampant among Russian troops,” harm reduction specialist Alexei Lakhov told Al Jazeera.

“These medications, which are often used recreationally for their euphoric and relaxing effects, are readily available in pharmacies without the need for prescriptions in garrison towns like Rostov-on-Don and Bataysk. Soldiers have been known to buy these substances in bulk and distribute them among their units.”

Also popular are stimulants such as amphetamines, mephedrone and alpha-PVP, also known as “bath salts”; white crystalline powders produced in secret laboratories. These help soldiers stay awake, boosting their alertness and willingness to take risks, but can be highly addictive and devastating to mental health.

In Ukraine, opioid substitution therapy – the use of methadone to wean addicts off heroin – is legal but remains banned in the military. This complicates life for Ukrainian soldiers who were on the programme before being called into action.

‘I doubt the command isn’t aware of this’

A recent report by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) highlighted how nalbuphine, another opioid, is informally used as a painkiller by Ukrainian medics. But dependency can arise from prolonged usage, inducing severe withdrawal symptoms.

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In both Russia and Ukraine, drug dealing takes place on apps.

Orders are placed using cryptocurrency and then delivered to dead drops, or sometimes to the trenches. Prices are vastly inflated because of the heightened risk to couriers running contraband into a war zone.

As reported by Verstka, an independent Russian publication, during the occupation of Ukraine’s Kherson in 2022, “men in uniform” kidnapped local drug dealers and tortured them into handing over their stashes and Telegram channels.

Russian drug gangs from Crimea and Krasnodar muscled in and suddenly, heroin became much more available where it had not been before.

“I know first-hand that the flow of drugs into the [combat] zone is now rampant,” said Medvedev.

“I doubt the command isn’t aware of this; I think many high-ranking officers in the army are making a good living from it.”

Outside these clandestine networks, individual soldiers are said to be bringing their own supplies from home while enterprising locals harvest opium poppies and cannabis from their gardens to sell to military personnel.

On the Ukrainian side, drugs are also delivered to the front lines by private postal services, which are fast, efficient and relatively anonymous.

Despite suffering huge losses – by some estimates, 200,000 Russian soldiers have lost their lives since 2022 – Russia has managed to maintain its manpower, in part by drawing on its prison population. Inmates are offered the chance of a pardon and early release in return for serving a tour on the battlefield. Partly as a result, the prison population fell from 433,000 in 2023 to a historic low of 308,000 today.

“I was recruited by an Interior Ministry officer, who said they were recruiting elite soldiers with combat experience,” said Medvedev. “But when I got to that battalion and saw the contingent there, I realised they were far from elite … How can you recruit men over 50 or with serious criminal records into an assault battalion?”

Drug convictions are among the most common causes of confinement in Russia, accounting for roughly one in seven prisoners before the war.

They included Dmitry Karavaichik, a veterinarian-turned-amphetamine cook nicknamed “Russia’s Walter White”, after the protagonist of the crime thriller Breaking Bad.

Karavaichik was awarded a medal for his “outstanding service” in Bakhmut, and secured the release of his wife and business partner, Diana Gribovskaya.

“Since 2022, prisoners under [anti-drug laws] have become the main reservoir for recruitment into private military companies, primarily Wagner, and later into Storm-Z assault units,” said Lakhov.

“A harsh punitive approach to non-violent drug crimes de facto became a tool for providing the army with expendable material. The system also works in the opposite direction: military personnel caught using drugs in a combat zone are not prosecuted, but are sent to the Storm-Z assault detachments. These are units that perform the most dangerous tasks with minimal cover – in fact, sending them to certain death.”

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Other times, soldiers caught imbibing illicit drugs or drinking on duty have reportedly been tied to a tree until they sober up, before being summarily executed.

Ukraine has likewise recruited convicts, including drug offenders, in exchange for early parole, a monthly salary, and other perks, although to a lesser degree. Being short of manpower, Ukrainian forces are much more lenient: failing a drug test simply means losing pay, while certain commanders choose to overlook it altogether. Nevertheless, these penalties are enough to make many soldiers reluctant to seek help.

This may have consequences as veterans return home.

Although only a minority of both drug users and veterans are dangerous criminals, there is a risk that substance abuse can aggravate mental conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal tendencies, or that battle-hardened veterans resort to crime to fund an addiction. Violent crime and recidivism among veterans are becoming mounting concerns in Russia.

“The combination of PTSD and substance abuse represents the most severe form of post-combat pathology,” said Lakhov.

“This category of patients presents a particular challenge for rehabilitation, as organic brain damage – traumatic brain injury, contusions – limits the effectiveness of psychotherapy.”