"I noticed that they take red-and-white pills, Lyrica [brand name] ... in capsules, a lot of it. They get ... these half-closed eyes and drink plenty of energy drinks after this," the 42-year-old PoW said.
He assumed that Ukrainian soldiers were buying the Lyrica pills - a synthetic pregabalin-based prescription medication evoking euphoria - during outings to a nearby city, where they were allowed to go on a leave warrant once per week.
A US newspaper reported this spring that substance abuse was widespread among the Ukrainian military, as many soldiers suffer physical and emotional trauma. Intoxicated, they reportedly commit atrocities against civilians.
Ukrainian soldiers on the front line are also abusing alcohol, Grachev said. The Zaporozhye-born PoW recalled an incident when a company commander was assaulted by a drunken soldier from a neighboring platoon.
"The commander arrived in their trenches to ask something, and one of the soldiers was drunk. When he [the commander] walked a bit away, that guy threw a grenade almost directly onto him," he said, adding that the grenade soldier was then beaten up and taken away.
It is common among Ukrainian soldiers to buy moonshine from local residents, Grachev, who was mobilized in October 2023 and then fought on the border near Russia's Belgorod Region, said.