In April 2016, Kuksenkov became the subject of turmoil with the news spreading that he had tested positive for meldonium in a failed drugs test. The announcement came a day after he was crowned the Russian National champion, leading to his withdrawal from the remainder of the competition. He was temporarily suspended from Competition, however On April 13, the World Anti-Doping Agency gave amnesty to athletes with the presence of less than 1 microgram of meldonium in doping samples in tests conducted on athletes before March 1, 2016 is acceptable, WADA cites due to uncertainties and lack of studies for how long meldonium stays in the body., his suspension was lifted and he was allowed to train with the Russian Team for the 2016 European Championships.