Half a Million Drug Addicts in Ukraine, Numbers Rising - State Dept Report

With 68,000 officially registered drug addicts in Ukraine, the scale of substance abuse in the country seems to be underestimated, as experts say half a million of Ukrainians are on drugs.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Ukraine officially lists just over 68,000 registered drug addicts, but the real number may be as high as half a million people, the latest annual US Department of State International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) said.

"The number of registered drug addicts was 68,220 as of May 2015," the report, released on Wednesday, stated. "However, various experts estimate the actual total number of people with substance use disorders in Ukraine could be as high as 500,000."

Heroin from Afghanistan is trafficked through the Caucasus and Turkey before passing through Ukraine while cocaine originating from South America is moved through Ukrainian seaports and airports for both domestic use and further transit to European Union nations, the report explained.

"Ukrainian law enforcement occasionally interdicts large shipments of drugs in commercial shipping transiting southern ports. In June 2015, a record 500 kilogram shipment of heroin was seized in transit arriving from Turkey though Illichivsk near Odessa, en route to Western Europe," the report pointed out.

The use of synthetic drugs and psychotropic substances, especially amphetamines, has been rapidly increasing in Ukraine over the past decade, in line with international trends. Synthetic drugs are trafficked to Ukraine primarily from Poland, Lithuania and the Netherlands, the report added.

Law enforcement officials from other countries have documented that heroin from Afghanistan is also transported into Ukraine via Kosovo, which has become Europe’s main heroin and other drugs’ distribution center.