MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) reported eight suspected violations of anti-doping regulations by Russian athletes over the past month, the agency’s spokeswoman told TASS on Thursday.

"RUSADA has registered eight cases of possible violations of anti-doping regulations in April," she said.

Since the beginning of the year Russia’s governing anti-doping body reported 28 of such cases: five in January, three in February, 12 in March and eight in April.

Last year, RUSADA reported identifying 109 potential violations by Russian athletes involving performance enhancing drugs against 102 cases registered the year before.

In 2023, RUSADA reported an overall number of 150 potential violations by Russian athletes involving performance enhancing drugs. The figure for the year of 2022 was registered to stand at 135.

Most of the cases about the suspected anti-doping violations involve the use of anabolic steroids, diuretics and masking agents as well as the use of meldonium, a prohibited substance.

The drug meldonium (mildronate) was placed on WADA’s prohibition list on January 1, 2016. The presence of this substance in an athlete’s bloodstream during and between competitions is a violation of the anti-doping rules. Meldonium is categorized by WADA’s blacklist as an S4 class substance (hormones and metabolic modulators).

Mildronate is a cardiovascular medication freely available for purchase at pharmacies across Russia without a doctor’s prescription.