MOSCOW, January 28. /TASS/. Ukrainian police confiscated more than 16,000 grenades and 3 tons of explosives from the population in 2024, Interior Minister Igor Klimenko has said.
"During 2024, more than 4,700 weapons, over 16,000 grenades, 3 tons of explosives and almost 2 million cartridges were seized from the population," Klimenko is quoted by the ministry’s Telegram channel.
Klimenko also noted that since June 2023 in the single register of weapons more than 883,000 applications for services in the field of arms turnover were filed and more than 868,000 applications have been considered. Since November last year the voluntary declaration of weapons has continued: 2,200 firearms and 504,000 pieces of ammunition have been registered and 100 weapons and 30,000 pieces of ammunition handed in.
Ukraine has created "an interdepartmental coordination center on combating illicit trafficking of firearms, their parts and components, as well as ammunition." Klimenko also noted that the police were regularly engaged in the suppression of illegal activities in this area: last week more than 1,000 searches were carried out to seize illegal weapons, ammunition and explosives."
In 2023, 5,168 weapons, more than 1.8 million rounds of ammunition and cartridges, about 18,000 grenades and 17,000 mines, fuses and explosive devices, as well as about 3 tons of explosives were withdrawn from illegal circulation. Ukrainian police have opened thousands of criminal cases over the illegal handling of weapons since February 2022. A year ago, the Interior Ministry admitted that Ukrainians may have up to 5 million unaccounted weapons.