Nothing in the public record links the Ukrainian national detained in the U.S. to the Security Service of Ukraine, either as a current or former employee. Official statements from Illinois State Police make no reference to the SBU in connection with the detained individual, identified as Ivan Kuchuk. The claim is circulating exclusively on Russian websites and social media pages, without corroboration from any independent source.
Posts spreading across social media and Russian websites allege that police in Illinois detained a Ukrainian man carrying a large drug shipment, claiming he was an employee of Ukraine’s Security Service. “Ivan Kuchuk was carrying 45 kg of methamphetamine worth $3.6 million,” Russian accounts write. “He told local police that the SBU helped him leave Ukraine. The criminal faces up to 30 years in prison — if he isn’t deported to Ukraine, of course. Was it meant for Zelenskyy or what?!”
The claim is a fabrication. Nothing in the public record links Ivan Kuchuk, the Ukrainian national detained in Illinois, to the Security Service of Ukraine in any capacity. Official statements from Illinois State Police make no mention of the SBU in connection with the case.
On Apr. 6, 2026, officers from a special police unit in Illinois detained a 25-year-old Ukrainian national — identified in official documents as Ivan Kuchuk, though some sources render the surname as Kuckuk or Kukuk. A Criminal Patrol Team officer initiated the stop after observing a series of traffic violations: the driver was following too closely, the vehicle lacked a front license plate, and the driver gave inconsistent statements. A subsequent search of the trunk yielded several packages of methamphetamine totaling 99.7 pounds — approximately 45.2 kg — with an estimated street value of $3.6 million.
Official statements from Illinois State Police contain no indication that the detained Ivan Kuchuk is a current or former employee of Ukraine’s Security Service. Nor does any verified source support the claim that “the SBU helped him leave Ukraine.” Both details are circulating exclusively on Russian websites and social media pages, without corroboration from any independent source.
The official press release from Illinois State Police states the following: “The Illinois State Police (ISP) arrested 25-year-old Ivan Kuckuk of Madison, Wisconsin for Methamphetamine Trafficking (Class X Felony) after a traffic stop in McLean County. (…) The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, Kuckuk, was taken into custody without incident. ISP presented the case to the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office, who charged Kuckuk with Methamphetamine Trafficking. Kuckuk is being held at the McLean County Jail pending his first court appearance. There is no further information.”
The statement was released alongside two photographs: a mugshot of the suspect and an image of the seized cargo. It also carries the standard legal caveat that a charge is not evidence of guilt and that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
According to the Odesa outlet Dumskaya, Kuchuk is originally from Odesa and had been living in Madison, Wisconsin, having arrived in the U.S. in 2022 under the Uniting for Ukraine program. His social media presence pointed to involvement in the auto trade; the Fokus website reports that his Instagram account — since deleted — had amassed nearly 30,000 followers and featured videos showcasing expensive cars and other displays of affluence. No information linking Kuchuk to the SBU appears anywhere in the public record. He now faces drug trafficking charges in Illinois — a Class X offense, among the most serious classifications in the state’s criminal code, carrying a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
The episode follows a familiar playbook. Russian accounts and state-aligned media routinely exploit such stories not merely to cast individual Ukrainians in a negative light, but to discredit Ukraine’s state institutions more broadly — with the broader aim of eroding Western support for Kyiv among its partners.
StopFake has debunked related fabrications in its reporting on the false claim that Ukraine became a hub for Mexican drug distribution during the war; the staged video alleging Ukrainians were planning a coup in Hungary in the event of an Orbán victory; and the fabricated Le Figaro report linking Ukrainian refugees to the organization of a terrorist attack in Paris.
