Ukraine conducts nationwide raids over illegal weapons trade

Ukrainian police conduct 1,000 raids to stop illegal arms sales, seizing weapons and ammunition, targeting smuggling networks.

“Ukrainian law enforcement agencies were conducting some 1,000 raids nationwide on Thursday (January 23, 2025) to stop the illegal sale of weapons and ammunition,” police said.

The proliferation of arms in the war-battered country since the Russian invasion in early 2022 has raised concerns about weapons smuggling both inside Ukraine and among its Western-backed allies.

“The main goal is to shut down sales and storage channels as well as to seize trophy weapons” taken from Russian soldiers as well as “ammunition and explosives from illicit trafficking,” the national police force said in a social media post.

The statement said the ringleaders could face up to seven years in prison, adding that more details of the probe would be released later.

The force also issued a video showing heavily armed police preparing to break down a door, seizing ammunition and cash.

The raids are the latest efforts by law enforcement to stamp out the illegal distribution of weapons in the country.

In September last year, police said they had thwarted an illegal arms smuggling operation in the Kyiv region, seizing some 40,000 euros worth of guns and ammunition.