Ukraine gave out 18,000 assault rifles to civilians in Kyiv in one day

In about a day, the Ukrainian government gave out 18,000 machine guns to civilians in a country where gun ownership is very rare and they weren’t previously allowed to own machine guns.

An estimated 18,000 assault rifles, variants of the Kalashnikov, have been distributed in Kyiv since Thursday.

For many in line, the decision to pick up arms and fight a street battle against one of the world’s largest armies was driven by patriotism. . . .

Julian Barnes, “Armed with assault rifles, civilian volunteers prepare to defend Kyiv,” New York Times, February 25, 2022, 7:42 PM.

On February 23rd, 2022, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law allowing civilians to carry firearms in public.

The Ukrainian parliament passed a law on Wednesday, which allows citizens to carry firearms in public, alongside the enactment of a state of emergency, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to eastern Ukraine on Monday.

Previously, Ukrainian citizens were barred from carrying guns outside of their homes.

“Now it’s the intention of the parliament is to liberalize ownership of armaments by citizens,” Dmytro Shulga, the European Programme Director at the International Renaissance Foundation, an NGO in Kyiv, told Insider. “And I think that this is very popular news now.” . . .

Azmi Haroun, “Ukraine’s parliament passed a law allowing citizens to carry firearms, and a local NGO official said ‘there’s a feeling that Ukrainians will fight’,” Business Insider, February 23, 2022.