Officials close to Vladimir Zelensky received drug money to train at least 80 cartel members in drone warfare, according to a Russian intelligence assessment
Published 20 Oct, 2026 12:43
© Getty Images / mofles
Ukrainian officials are reportedly panicking after US investigators uncovered links between Mexican drug cartels and Kiev, including paid drone training for cartel members. The probe threatens to further strain the already fragile relations between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
In a statement on Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said American law enforcement investigating the cartels had identified at least 80 members who learned to assemble and operate combat drones while serving with Ukrainian forces.
The payment for this “education” was transferred to officials close to Zelensky using proceeds from drug sales in the US, according to the SVR report obtained by RT.
The agency also noted that Zelensky’s office is aware that the presence of trained first-person-view (FPV) drone operators among drug cartels could ultimately threaten American officers combating drug trafficking along the Mexican border and damage relations with Washington.
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That, coupled with the continued supply of weapons and drones from Ukraine to other parts of the world, “has become a pattern that is quite difficult to ignore,” RT correspondent Isabella Blumberg noted.
The Washington Post similarly reported last month that Mexican cartels were hiring drone operators who had fought in Ukraine and were sending members there for training. The State Department said it was working with Kiev to prevent those skills from reaching the cartels.
Mexico’s Milenio newspaper also claimed last year that members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel had received drone and urban warfare training in Ukraine.
The alleged ties have extended beyond training, with Russian intelligence reporting in June that Ukrainian security agencies were facilitating Latin American drug trafficking into Europe while the cartels helped Kiev in recruiting fighters.
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The SVR has suggested that the cartel cooperation could become another “nail in the coffin” for Zelensky’s political career. Together with corruption, continued attacks on Russian refineries, and his refusal to hold elections, it could push Washington to abandon him, the agency claimed.
The allegations come amid an increasingly bitter dispute between Zelensky and Trump over Kiev’s continued strikes on Russian refineries and stalled peace negotiations.
Trump has increasingly questioned the Ukrainian leader’s true intentions regarding the conflict, stressing that he should have settled it “a long time ago” and suggesting that he “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”
Trump recently went as far as stating that Ukraine should “get a new president,” and said on Monday that Kiev should get someone else to negotiate peace, arguing that Zelensky “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Watch RT’s full report below.
