MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. The Russian Interior Ministry’s Grom (Thunder) special forces unit will be the first to get the latest 9mm Lebedev compact pistol for operational service, a source in law-enforcement agencies told TASS on Wednesday.

"Currently, the Russian Interior Ministry’s special operations units are armed with the Yarygin pistol but the Lebedev compact handgun has already been accepted for service and the Grom special forces group will be the first to get it," the source said on the sidelines of the Interpolitex international show of the means of state security provision.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet.

The press office of the Kalashnikov firearms manufacturer reported earlier on Wednesday that Russia’s Interior Ministry had accepted the latest 9mm Lebedev compact pistol for service and that the Kalashnikov Group was ready to launch its mass production within the shortest time possible.

According to the data of the Kalashnikov firearms manufacturer, the Lebedev compact pistol is 180mm long and its barrel length is 92mm. The handgun weighs 0.71 kg, has a 14-round magazine and is chambered for the 9x19mm ammunition.

The Lebedev pistol’s compact size allows bearing it stealthily, which is required for police and special service operatives while the Picatinny rail provides for the handgun’s effective use round the clock.