MPs with weapons: who has declared pistols, shotguns and carbines
This was reported by Channel 24.
In the declarations of MPs of the ninth convocation, 15 parliamentarians were found to have declared firearms.
Together, they declared over 340 items. However, the bulk of this figure is made up of two large antique collections – those of Nestor Shufrich from the “Platform for Life and Peace” group and Oleksandr Feldman from the “Restoration of Ukraine” group.
These declarations show that, despite the legal regulation of firearms in Ukraine, some MPs already possess their own arsenals – ranging from hunting rifles to carbines and commemorative pistols.
Who declared the most weapons
According to an analysis of the declarations, Oleksandr Feldman has the largest arsenal among current MPs. He declared 157 weapons.
His declaration lists not only firearms but also dozens of weapons from various eras: swords, sabres, daggers, bows, crossbows and armour from Asia, the Caucasus and other regions.
Second on the list is Nestor Shufrich. His declaration lists 156 weapons.
Third place goes to Andriy Puziychuk from “Batkivshchyna”. He has declared 12 firearms. These include Fabarm, Verney Carron, Caesar, Browning, Krieghoff and Weatherby shotguns, three Blaser R8 carbines of various calibres, a Marlin XT22 semi-automatic and a Soviet TOZ 34ER.
Hunting collections and the premium segment
Fourth in the ranking is Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk, also from “Batkivshchyna”. He declared 8 firearms.
These include a “Fort 12” commemorative pistol and seven hunting rifles: Benelli, Sauer, Merkel, Browning, Ideal, Leopold Bernard and Suhl.
Ihor Marchuk from “Servant of the People” rounds off the top five. His declaration lists four premium-segment firearms.
These are two Blaser carbines – the R93 Super Exclusive and the R8 Ultimate Elastomere Match iC in 6.5 Creedmoor calibre – as well as two rifles: the Blaser K95 Luxus Exclusive Custom and the Merkel K4 Stutzen.
Who else declared weapons
In the declarations of other MPs, journalists found both award pistols and hunting and tactical weapons.
Serhiy Lyovochkin from the “Platform for Life and Peace” group declared a 9mm Sig-Sauer P226 pistol, a 9mm Jericho pistol and a 12-gauge Merkel BBF shotgun.
Independent MP Oleksandr Dubinsky listed three hunting weapons: an Austrian Steyr AUG A3 rifle, a Swiss Brugger & Thomet TS 9 TP, and a Mossberg smoothbore shotgun.
Roman Ivanisov from the “Restoration of Ukraine” group declared a Browning BAR 2 Gold semi-automatic carbine and a Swarovski Z6i optical sight.
Oleg Meydich from “Batkivshchyna” listed a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 PRO carbine in .223 Rem calibre with an 18-inch barrel and an additional Daniel Defense MK18 URG BLACK upper receiver.
Serhiy Minko from the “Dovira” group declared a Cadex CDX-R7 carbine in 6 Creedmoor calibre.
Mykhailo Kryachko from “Servant of the People” listed a Cadex carbine.
Andriy Kit from “Dovira” declared a JP Enterprises JP ASF-20 carbine in .223 Rem calibre.
Mykola Liushniak from “Dovira” listed a Blaser R8 hunting carbine.
Oleksandr Kovalchuk of “Servant of the People” declared a Merkel SUHL 96K shotgun.
Mykhailo Sokolov of “Servant of the People” listed a pistol received as an award.
What is not visible in the declarations
A separate issue is award-winning firearms.
The law allows for the non-declaration of the presidential award “Personalised Firearm” and similar incentive awards issued by law enforcement and military agencies.
It is therefore difficult to determine the exact number of weapons that MPs may actually possess.
In the previous session of the Verkhovna Rada, journalists from Bihus.Info identified 63 MPs who possessed award-winning firearms but did not list them in their declarations. In total, 87 MPs at that time possessed 323 firearms.
The largest arsenal in the eighth convocation was also held by Nestor Shufrich – 156 items. Second was Mykhailo Dobkin with 18 hunting weapons.
What the state authorities replied
To find out whether MPs of the ninth convocation had been awarded firearms, journalists from Channel 24 sent enquiries to the Office of the President, the Ministry of Defence, the State Special Communications Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Security Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the State Border Guard Service and the Main Intelligence Directorate.
Some of the agencies replied that such information is classified.
The Office of the President reported that between the start of 2019 and May 2026, nine people were awarded the “Personal Firearm” distinction. There were no MPs among them.
The Ministry of Defence replied that over a period of more than seven years, almost 17,400 people had been awarded the “Firearm” distinction. Among them was a former MP of the ninth convocation, Lieutenant General Mykhailo Zabrodskyi, who was awarded the honour in May 2022.
The State Special Communications Service reported that between 24 February 2022 and May 2026, 1,085 people had been awarded the “Firearms” distinction.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated in its response that it does not currently keep a record of those awarded.
It is impossible to determine the exact number of weapons held by MPs if some of the award weapons are not subject to mandatory declaration.
According to publicly available declarations, at least 15 current MPs are known to have over 340 declared firearms.
Three more sitting MPs – Serhiy Vlasenko, Mykola Knyazhytskyi and Olena Kondratyuk – possess award weapons which they are not legally required to declare.
The debate over the firearms law appears to be not only a public one, but also a political one. MPs who themselves declare or may possess weapons as awards have yet to pass a comprehensive law that would regulate this matter for citizens.
The firearms law has still not been passed
Back in 2019, the Servant of the People party promised to legislate on the right to own firearms.
The draft law “On the Right to Civilian Firearms” was supported in principle by the Verkhovna Rada on 23 February 2022 – one day before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
However, the bill has not yet reached its second reading.
The Centre for Political and Legal Reforms notes that Ukraine lacks a law comprehensively regulating the circulation of firearms. Instead, a 1998 Ministry of Internal Affairs order remains in force, which the Supreme Court was effectively compelled to recognise as law.
Following the shooting at a Kyiv supermarket on 18 April 2026, when a 58-year-old man armed with a carbine killed six people and injured at least ten, the issue of gun control has once again become a pressing concern.
Experts stress that Ukraine needs a law on the circulation of weapons as a basis for developing legislation in the field of public safety and in the context of integration into the European Union.
As reported by ThePublic, the SBU and the National Police have uncovered six channels for the illegal sale of captured weapons in regions across Ukraine.
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