The number of gun crimes in Ukraine has increased dramatically since war broke out in the east. Experts say the spread of the black market has made buying weapons in Ukraine cheaper and easier, and this coincides with a wave of violence all over the country.
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office, the number of weapons-related crimes last year tripled to a record 2,523, representing a 231 percent increase over the previous year.
Moreover, the number of such crimes in 2015 will probably surpass last year’s record. There have been 2,494 weapons-related crimes in the first half of this year alone.
The crime data for 2014-2015 excludes the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as Crimea, which Russia annexed in March 2014.
According to Hryhoriy Uchaykin, founder and chairman of the Ukrainian Gun Owners Association, the increase of gun crimes is mostly due to the spread of illegal weapons coming from the war zone.
“There is a Swiss company called Small Arm Service that in 2007 determined that in Ukraine there were 3.1 million firearms…Today we believe that the number has increased to 4.5 million,” Uchaykin said.
The spike is due to the lack of proper checks being made when people travel from the conflict areas to other parts of the country, he said.
“There is demand, and it’s easy to get guns from the war zone,” he said. “Over the last year, we determined that between 500,000 and 700,000 illegal guns (light weapons) entered the rest of Ukraine from the conflict zone.”
But according to Uchaykin, the black market offers much more than light weapons, and people can buy almost any kind of weapon at below-market price − including explosives and submachine guns.
“A Kalashnikov rifle will officially cost $1,100, but on the black market they sell for $100 or $200,” Uchaykin said.
Black market prices are much lower in eastern Ukraine than in the rest of the country, making the sale of illegal weapons a potentially lucrative business. Guns and ammunition can be bought cheaply in the conflict areas, and then marked up considerably for sale in the rest of Ukraine.
Another important aspect of the increase in gun crimes is the existence of paramilitary units still not controlled by the nation’s military structure. Once these soldiers are discharged and return from the front, they are supposed to give up their weapons – but they rarely do, Uchaykin said.
However, Uchaykin said that is not fair to blame these volunteer groups for the wave of violence in Ukraine.
“People took their hunting weapons and went to the front line, where they got new firearms as trophies. No one gave weapons to them – neither the government, nor the army or the police,” Uchaykin said.
“Now there is a fight with the Right Sector (nationalist organization), but what did (the government) do to prevent this situation? Did anyone think about what to do with the volunteer battalions after the war? No one did.”
Uchaykin also claimed corruption at the Interior Ministry was to blame for some of the rise in gun crimes in Ukraine.
“Corruption plays a very big part. We need to remember that the Interior Ministry is responsible for the fight against illegal guns,” Uchaykin said. “It is important to recognize that while the Interior Ministry regularly reports on the increase of gun crime, they never state that these guns are illegal. Never. And the devil lies in such little details.”
When reached by phone, Interior Ministry spokesman Ivan Kulekha acknowledged the rise in gun crime but refused to comment by phone, saying that he is on vacation. Another spokesman, Artem Shevchenko, wasn’t reachable by phone and calls placed with the main Interior Ministry press service line went unanswered.
However, talking about the black market and the role that the Ukrainian authorities may play in it is taboo, Uchaykin said. He said he avoids talking about it because of the consequences he may suffer for doing so.
“I know in general how the black market works, but I try not to go into details because it’s dangerous for our organization,” Uchaykin said.
Kyiv Post summer interns Pablo Gabilondo and Valeriya Golovina can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.
