‘Ukraine Needs Strong Civilian Firearms Law,’ Zelensky Says as Officials Prepare Bill

Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine is preparing a new civilian firearms law as officials, military and lawmakers push to regulate weapon ownership during wartime. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the Bundestag Julia Kloeckner (unseen) attend a press conference in Kyiv on March 11, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google Ukraine may move closer to legalizing and regulating civilian firearm ownership as President Volodymyr Zelensky said a broad group of officials, lawmakers, military personnel, law enforcement representatives, civil society actors, and businesses are already working on amendments to a draft law on civilian firearms circulation. In his evening address on Wednesday, May 6, Zelensky said Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko briefed him on preparations for the legislation, which is expected to regulate civilian firearm ownership in Ukraine for the first time under a comprehensive legal framework. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . “Ukraine needs a modern and strong law on civilian firearms that will protect citizens without weapons and realistically regulate the situation for those who own weapons,” Zelensky said. Earlier, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Office of the President, opposed further easing of current legislation and suggested gaps in the system. “This has never worked and will not work now… There are always two sides – an imagined sense of protection, and a real increase in incidents like those we have seen in recent days,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Kyiv Security Forum, days after the shooting. The renewed discussion comes weeks after a deadly terrorist attack in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district on April 18 that killed six people. Following the incident, Klymenko criticized police officers who fled the scene, calling their behavior “shameful,” and argued that Ukrainians should have the right to armed self-defense. Other Topics of Interest Zelensky Says Moscow’s Main Parade Now ‘Depends on Us’ Zelensky said Russia ignored Ukraine’s ceasefire proposal and continued attacks across multiple regions, warning Kyiv would respond “mirror-like.” On April 23, authorities detained a man who opened fire in a high-rise building in Lviv . He was later taken to a specialized hospital. Police said the shooter – a 34-year-old resident of the building – had mental disorders. He fired shots inside his apartment using a recreational Flaubert revolver and threw the weapon out of the window when he saw officers approaching. No one was injured. But the Lviv incident is just one in a series of recent shootings. On April 22, a shooting occurred in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district after a quarrel between a driver and a pedestrian. One man was hospitalized with injuries. On April 18, a deadly shooting took place in Kyiv . An armed man opened fire, killing seven people . He barricaded himself inside a supermarket with hostages. Negotiations failed, and law enforcement officers neutralized the shooter. On April 19, police in Chernihiv detained a 23-year-old man after reports of gunfire. According to investigators, two intoxicated men were walking down the street when one fired several shots into the air from a starting pistol. No one was injured, and the weapon was confiscated. Earlier, on April 16, a shooting incident occurred at a school in Transcarpathia, where a 9th-grade student fired a pistol during class, wounding a classmate. On April 23, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it thwarted a Russian attempt to orchestrate school shootings and bombings in Ukraine’s Kirovohrad and Odesa regions. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization since 1995. Its international market reach of 97% outside of Ukraine makes it truly Ukraine’s Global – and most reliable – Voice.