"Color revolutions" of the kind that toppled Ukraine's previous pro-Russian president last year are financed by the proceeds of selling drugs, a Russian anti-drug official was cited as saying Tuesday by Interfax.
Vladimir Kalanda, deputy head of the Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN), also accused "sectarian" nongovernmental organizations ostensibly involved in drug rehabilitation efforts of being among the most active participants of the Maidan movement that spearheaded Ukraine's revolution, adding that they now make up the "shock troops" of the Ukrainian army, the news agency reported.
The connection between the purported funding from drug sales and the involvement of drug rehabilitation activists was not immediately clear.
Kalanda's claims echoed those made by his boss, FSKN head Viktor Ivanov, in December last year.
Ivanov claimed that the Ukrainian revolution was enacted by brainwashed methadone addicts— products of UN-endorsed methadone replacement therapy, which Russia has condemned as a form of drug addiction.
The FSKN also accused Ukraine in February of organizing drug cartels to generate funding for the war against pro-Russian separatists, blaming the same cartels for the proliferation of lethal synthetic drugs in Russia.
"Color revolutions" is the term given to the generally peaceful large-scale anti-government demonstrations and uprisings that have taken place in former Soviet countries including Ukraine and Georgia.
The Kremlin has repeatedly said that foreign forces seeking to foment a color revolution in Russia are a threat to the country's stability.
President Vladimir Putin said at a Security Council meeting in November that color revolutions in the former Soviet Union should serve as a "lesson and warning" and that everything should be done to prevent one from occurring in Russia.
