Should Ukrainians have legal guns?

Gunfire in Kyiv's streets this past month provoked a legal debate on legalizing civilian firearms. The Ukrainian government is already seeking a path to allow civilians to shoot.

KYIV, Ukraine — If Oleksandr and Viktor happened to cross paths, they would probably not get along on this one issue.

Both of them have seen the war firsthand and have held weapons in their hands, but their views sharply diverge: should Ukrainians be allowed to carry them in everyday life?

Viktor during his mission with a mobile air defense unit. Viktor’s Instagram

Oleksandr, who was once categorically opposed to the idea, now fully supports the right to bear arms for civilians.

Viktor, on the other hand, realized after serving in the army that owning a gun is not as simple as it seems from the outside.

The mass shooting in Kyiv on April 18, which left seven people dead and as many injured, has once again split society on whether the Ukrainian government should legalize civilian firearms for self-defense, and if the risks of legalization are worth it.

Broad discussions about legalizing firearms for civilians have been held since 2022. Since the mass shooting, the dispute is more serious than at any time in Ukrainian history.

A total game-changer that pushed the discussion beyond social media to the ministry cabinets was the footage, which emerged shortly after the Kyiv terrorist act. It revealed that two police officers immediately fled the crime scene after a man who opened fire with a rifle, leaving the injured, including a child, completely helpless.

Warning: this video contains gunfire sound.

Witness footage captures the moment a police officer flees the scene. YouTube, 24 Channel.

Such a lack of readiness by law enforcement and public outrage effectively prompted the government to prepare for potential changes in legislation, as it currently prohibits civilian ownership of handguns.

Ukrainian society is grappling with a pressing dilemma: would legal firearms help to regulate gun circulation, or would they simply turn isolated terrorist acts into frequent news?

Oleksandr Klymchuk was among the first to stand up for his country. He had no weapon, no helmet, and no body armor, just like many other volunteers in Kyiv, but that didn’t stop him.

Before the war, Oleksandr was against civilian guns because there was no foundation for it: no sufficient number of training centers, no instructors, no explanation of legal responsibility.

However, the first days of the full-scale invasion has crossed out the old arguments. In February 2022, Ukraine handed out weapons to anyone ready to defend their country, allowing civilians to use weapons against the occupiers without any liability. In the first two days, more than 25,000 weapons were distributed in the capital, along with 10 million rounds of ammunition. Some analysts believe such a move halted the Russian advance on Kyiv. The Ukrainian national police claim there were no crimes committed using those weapons.

Oleksandr thinks that if Ukrainian civilians had their own legal weapons prior to the invasion it could have helped prevent some deaths in Kyiv’s suburbs in 2022, which became the sites of horrific massacres and war crimes.

Oleksandr in the early days of the full-scale invasion, standing near the Kyiv TV Tower. This photo was taken shortly before Russian forces launched a precision missile attack on the vital communication hub on March 1, 2022. Oleksandr’s Facebook

“With a weapon in their hands, a person has a chance. If someone told me, ‘the Russians will come now, you are under occupation, they will simply make you kneel and shoot you, or you will take one or two enemies with you,’ I would definitely choose the second. Even a one percent chance of getting out of the encirclement with a weapon is better than not having one,” Oleksandr said.

His reflection closely echoes that of people who began speaking out in favor of legalization after the terrorist act several weeks ago. Witnessing how no one was able to stop the shooter in Kyiv for an hour led many to start wondering: would it have been possible to save the victims if at least some of the people had been armed?

When Oleksandr came across the terror act, his first thought was that veterans should be allowed to carry firearms.

Special forces evacuate hostages held by a terrorist shooter from a supermarket on April 18, 2026 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Eduard Kryzhanivskyi/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images).

“Legally, everyone has the right to defend their life, but in practice, it works differently: if you kill an attacker, you immediately become a suspect in a criminal case. The police and prosecutors work based on the fact of death, often ignoring the intent or the circumstances of self-defense,” Oleksandr said, explaining why Ukraine needs to review its legal approach.

Oleksandr points to a legal absurdity; at the front, he was entrusted with complex equipment and any caliber, but in civilian life, he again becomes “unreliable.”

The argument for legalization of handguns is also driven by the reality of the massive amount of unregistered weapons currently circulating due to the war, the approximate number of which remains unknown even to the officials. Advocates suggest that a formal legal framework would allow the state to better monitor and control these arms rather than leaving them in the shadows.

While most EU countries have consistently tightened firearm restrictions over the past decade, the Czech Republiс іs often brought as an example of a country which could successfully merge a right of self-defense and low crime rates, which Ukraine could follow.

Despite having over 1.1 million registered firearms, the Czech Republic consistently ranks among the top 15 safest countries in the world according to the Global Peace Index. The key to this result has been a combination of a high level of gun ownership culture and rigorous digital oversight of every owner.

After a mass shooting at a university in Prague in December 2023, which claimed 14 lives, the Czech Republic did not restrict guns but created a direct digital link between medical institutions and the police through a registry. It allowed instant tracking of the mental health status of gun owners. Additionally, the police could seize weapons if a person was, for example, making threats on social media.

With Ukraine having one of the world’s most digitalized public services, pro-gun Ukrainians like Oleksandr believe that it is possible to regulate firearms more effectively.

Besides, Oleksandr appeals to the fact that the market itself will regulate training; stores and shooting ranges are interested in creating courses, and the state only needs to control “the rules of the game.”

However, not everyone who has gone through the fire of war shares this optimism — Victor’s experience, having held the same weapon in other circumstances, led him to radically opposite conclusions.

Viktor Oliinyk joined the military a year and a half ago when he went to the military recruitment office to update his records because his existing draft deferral was nearing expiration.

He was informed that his time to serve would come soon and was offered the chance to choose a specific unit. Understanding that his turn to defend the country was inevitable, Viktor decided to take the initiative. He joined a mobile fire group because he felt it was a vital role.

A mobile fire group is a specialized air-defense unit consisting of 5 to 12 personnel operating from high-speed pickup trucks. Armed with heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft cannons, or MANPADS, Oleksandr and his comrades effectively intercept Shaheds at low altitudes, providing vital protection for critical infrastructure in Odesa Region.

Viktor on duty with his mobile fire group, part of a specialized air defense unit. Viktor’s Instagram.

Viktor is convinced that civilians often romanticize gun ownership, failing to account for the psychological state of a society that has lived through four years of war.

Statistics support his fears: the number of PTSD cases continued rising in Ukraine, as well as the level of domestic violence in the country. There is a suggested correlation between these figures and PTSD among veterans. Approximately 60 percent of domestic violence cases are linked specifically to military personnel returning from the front.

According to some reports, the presence of a firearm in the home during conflicts between a couple increased the risk of domestic violence in the U.S. Around 901 women are fatally shot by an intimate partner each year and 70 percent of all female intimate partner homicide victims are killed specifically with a firearm. Moreover, in states with the most liberal gun carry laws, the number of mass shootings is not lower. On the contrary, easier access to weapons often plays into the hands of the attackers themselves.

Moreover, Viktor thinks having weapons never guarantees real defense against the attacker:

“[My acquaintance] went through training with an instructor and bought a… pistol for self-defense. But when she was attacked on the street right in front of her house, she simply didn’t have time to draw it. She was lucky she didn’t: the attacker was much larger, and had she missed, he would have simply wrestled the weapon away and could have shot her herself.”

According to an FBI analysis of active shooter incidents over the last 20 years, armed civilians intervened and successfully stopped attackers in only up to 6 percent of cases. In the vast majority of situations, shooters are stopped by the police or commit suicide before law enforcement arrives.

What is more, the man who committed the terrorist attack possessed officially registered weapons, suggesting that for now Ukrainian law enforcements can’t guarantee that guns will end up in the hands of an adequate person.

“Today’s system in Ukraine is very complex. It is somewhere in balance, and somewhere this system works… [For now] the state does not have trust in the people, and the people do not have trust in the state,” reflected Viktor.

NEWS OF THE DAY:

By Serafima Melnychuk

Good morning to readers; Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands.

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Since 2023, when Russia did nothing to stop Azerbaijan regaining full control of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia has moved to distance itself from Russia and built stronger relations with the EU, pushing for EU membership.

PUTIN, ZELENSKYY PROPOSED DATES FOR VICTORY DAY TRUCE: On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a two-day ceasefire in Ukraine for May 8–9. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by proposing the night of May 5–6.

Putin had earlier mentioned the possibility of a truce for the holidays after speaking with President Donald Trump by phone, ahead of celebrations marking the 81st anniversary of the Soviet triumph in World War II.

289 DRONES HIT RUSSIAN REFINERY, TECH PLANT: The Russian VNIIR-Progress weapons factory in Cheboksary was on fire after a nighttime attack, Russian media reported.

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According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the factory that was attacked produces components that aid communications for Russian weapons.

RUSSIA RESTRICTS INTERNET IN RUN UP TO VICTORY DAY: On Tuesday, Russians in Moscow and St Petersburg reported disrupted mobile internet access as the government restricts access ahead of Victory Day, May 9th, when a parade commemorating the end of the Nazi occupation is set to take place. The Kremlin said that security concerns related to potential Ukrainian drone attacks were behind the new restrictions.

The Russian government has recently ramped up internet restrictions. The most recent crackdown is expected to impact SMS messaging and websites which were previously not restricted.

DOG OF WAR:

This is Dzyga. Zoriana and Nastia met her at Defense Tech Week in Kyiv. Her owner attended every event throughout the week with her, and she became the star of the show. Photo provided by the event organizers.

Stay safe out there.

Best,
Kateryna