Up to 7 years imprisonment or reward from the Ministry of Internal Affairs: which weapons are now prohibited from being declared by civilians

In Ukraine, a monetary reward may be introduced for civilians who voluntarily transfer certain types of armaments necessary for the security and defense forces to the state. Bill No. 15351 proposes amendments to the laws "On Ensuring the Participation of Civilians in the Defense of Ukraine" and "On the National Police."

Why the initiative appeared

According to the Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Participation of Civilians in the Defense of Ukraine," civilians must declare their weapons. At the same time, a significant amount of weapons and ammunition ended up outside centralized military accounting. Currently, the law does not provide economic incentives for transferring them to the state, particularly regarding types of weapons and ammunition that are highly valuable for security and defense forces.

Meanwhile, combat experience shows that some of this armament can be reused after inspection, repair, restoration, or disposal of certain components.

Moreover, the presence of certain types of military weapons in civilian circulation increases risks to public safety, contributes to the formation of an illegal arms market, and complicates effective state control over their circulation.

What changes are proposed

The bill proposes amendments to the laws "On Ensuring the Participation of Civilians in the Defense of Ukraine" and "On the National Police," which will introduce a mechanism for paying monetary rewards for transferring certain types of weapons to the state.

Specifically, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be empowered to form a list of armaments critically important for the needs of Ukraine's security and defense forces. Firearms and ammunition included in this list will no longer be subject to the declaration mechanism — they are proposed to be transferred to the National Police for a monetary reward.

The procedure for paying such a reward will be determined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At the same time, the transfer of weapons and ammunition to the National Police according to the established procedure will be considered a voluntary surrender of weapons and ammunition to the authorities.

Additionally, the Law "On the National Police" is proposed to be supplemented with new police powers regarding the acceptance from the population of types of critically important armaments defined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs with payment of monetary rewards. Relevant information will also be entered into the National Police's information registers.

The implementation of the bill will require additional expenditures from the state budget. Currently, the bill's card does not contain financial justification. The final amount of funding will be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers after approving the law's implementation procedure and assessing the number of citizens who will use the new mechanism.

The explanatory note states that one possible source of funding could be a reduction in expenditures of the "Reserve Fund" program. The authors of the document believe that the expenses will be compensated by obtaining critically important armaments for the needs of Ukrainian military personnel.

However, despite the encouraging idea of introducing financial incentives for civilians to transfer weapons to the state, the bill does not specify the amount of the monetary reward.

If the bill is adopted, the relevant changes will take effect the day after publication. The Cabinet of Ministers must adopt the necessary subordinate acts within 3 months and bring all current rules into compliance with it.

The 24-hour rule

At the same time, alongside the proposed changes, certain rules for handling found weapons and their circulation are already in effect in Ukraine.

A citizen is obliged to surrender or report found weapons within 24 hours after informing the police (by calling 102 or 112).

Current legislation also defines a list of weapons that under no circumstances can be declared or remain in ownership. This includes large-caliber rifled weapons (from 12.7 mm), smoothbore weapons (from 23 mm), machine guns, mortars, MANPADS, and grenade launchers. Additionally, the Ministry of Internal Affairs proposes to add a separate category to this list of "prohibited for civilians" weapons — critically important weapons that will effectively be subject to buyout.

Weapons that were used as instruments or means of committing a crime, as well as weapons with illegally removed or altered markings (filed-off serial numbers), are not subject to buyout or declaration — such weapons will be confiscated by the police.

Information about transferred weapons will be entered into the National Police's information registers.

It is worth adding that Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "Illegal Handling of Weapons, Ammunition, or Explosives" establishes criminal liability for illegal actions with weapons. In particular, carrying, storing, acquiring, transferring, or selling firearms (except smoothbore hunting weapons), ammunition, explosives, or explosive devices without the legally required permit is punishable by imprisonment from three to seven years.

It is also provided that carrying, manufacturing, repairing, or selling daggers, Finnish knives, brass knuckles, or other cold weapons without the appropriate permit is punishable by a fine, community service, probation supervision, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for up to three years.

However, part three of this article specifies that a person who voluntarily surrenders firearms, ammunition, explosives, or explosive devices to the authorities, as provided for in the relevant parts of the article, is not subject to criminal liability.

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