In Ukraine, rare mass shooting rekindles debate over civilian gun rights

(Updated:  April 28, 2026 4:42 pm) 6 min read Police officers stand at the scene where a gunman killed seven people before being shot dead by police in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 18, 2026. (Dan Bashakov/AP Photo) Prefer on Google by Kateryna Denisova Warning: The story contains graphic images. Yevheniia and her family were at home when they heard firecracker-like sounds outside their window. She initially dismissed them. But within minutes, messages in the building chat warned that a man with a gun was moving through their residential area toward a nearby store. Fifty-eight-year-old Dmytro Vasylchenkov, a Moscow native and military retiree, opened fire on pedestrians on April 18 in the Holosiiv residential district in Kyiv before taking hostages at a supermarket. Seven people were killed. The Rapid Operational Response Unit (KORD) eliminated the attacker. Dmytro Vasylchenkov, a Moscow native and military retiree who was killed by police special forces after carrying out a terrorist attack, is seen holding a weapon in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 18, 2026. (Wikimedia) What followed was a renewed gun control debate that continues to divide public opinion in Ukraine over whether civilians should be allowed to legally carry handguns, with vocal supporters both for and against. In the following week, incidents of non-fatal shootings were reported in the cities of Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Bucha, and Kharkiv. "The discussion is very emotional," Andrii Osadchuk, a lawmaker from the Holos party and deputy head of the parliament's Law Enforcement Committee, told the Kyiv Independent. "Why did this (mass shooting) shock, anger, and frighten everyone so much? Because we are not used to this happening here." A video showing patrol officers fleeing the scene while the attacker was on the loose further fueled the debate. "You saw the police officers who had gun permits, and what they did," Yevheniia told the Kyiv Independent who refused to say her surname. "I don't think firearms are a 100% solution that fixes this situation or can somehow prevent something similar from happening in the future." Around 59% of Ukrainians support allowing law-abiding citizens to own handguns for self-defense, according to a 2022 survey conducted via the government Diia app. The main argument in support is that carrying a gun means a better chance to defend oneself. According to the Interior Ministry, 273 incidents involving firearms and explosives were recorded in 2021, before the all-out war. By 2024, as Russia's full-scale war entered its third year, that figure had surged to nearly 11,500. Mass shootings, once almost unheard of, are now an emerging concern. The last comparable case in Kyiv occurred in 2012, when a shooter killed three supermarket security guards and injured one. "I'm afraid that this will happen again. And what scares me even more is that people will once again be defenseless," says Heorhii Uchaikin, head of the Ukrainian Gun Owners Association. "It doesn't matter what kind of weapon is used against you — legal or illegal. What matters is whether you have the ability to defend yourself." Uchaikin, who has long advocated for permitting civilians to carry handguns, says that without a law regulating firearms, civilians will turn to the black market, fueling the uncontrolled spread of weapons. As the full-scale war progresses, Ukrainians may possess somewhere between one million and five million weapons , Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in 2024. Opponents of expanding civilian gun access argue that permitting carrying firearms could actually increase the number of such incidents rather than reduce the number of victims. Osadchuk says that neither Ukrainian society nor its institutions are sufficiently prepared for such a step. He is skeptical about strict background checks and firearm monitoring, saying that there is no clear or well-defined mechanism in place. Despite a criminal background, Vasylchenkov owned two registered rifles and a traumatic pistol. The last permit for his weapon was obtained using an allegedly fake press ID issued by an NGO, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said . Ivan Vyhivskyi, head of Ukraine's National Police, said authorities are investigating whether the certificate may have been obtained illegally. "To build any effective system with access to firearms, you need institutional capacity — and right now, it simply is not there," Osadchuk said. "And the tragedy once again showed that even legally obtained weapons can end up in the hands of people who are not just unstable, but mentally ill." The question of civilians' right to bear arms has been discussed in parliament for years, yet no final decision has been adopted. Under certain conditions, Ukrainians are permitted to purchase and own certain types of weapons, but carrying them in public is prohibited. Traumatic weapons may only be possessed by specific individuals, such as journalists, law enforcement officers, judges, lawyers. A body is seen at the scene where a gunman killed at least six people before being shot dead by police in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 18, 2026. (Dan Bashakov/AP Photo) Ukrainian officials remain divided on this issue. The interior minister backed granting citizens the right to armed self-defense, whereas President's Office Head Kyrylo Budanov opposes allowing civilians to carry guns. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 23 that the issue "should be settled," but didn't make his own stance clear. Some lawmakers and experts argue that important legislative changes are needed to address both the right to self-defense and the responsibilities surrounding the use of weapons. Olha Piskunova, an expert at the Legislative Initiatives Laboratory, said that the outcome will largely depend on how clearly the right to self-defense is defined, and in which cases the use of firearms won’t be viewed as excessive force. The fleeing of two police officers from the crime scene further strained relations between Ukrainian society and the police. Police officers, Anna Dunina and Mykhailo Drobnytskyi, were suspended from duty and charged with negligence. The Pechersk District Court in Kyiv ordered their detention, setting bail at over Hr 266,000 ($6,000) each, which was posted on April 22. The video from body cameras was widely shared on social media, prompting strong public condemnation. Despite an ongoing police reform, launched in 2015 after the EuroMaidan Revolution , a series of high-profile police-related incidents has driven protests and eroded trust. The mass shooting and police inaction has once again sparked the gun control debate. "The police, the state did not protect us," says Uchaikin. "We need to figure out how to defend ourselves when there is no police nearby." The interior minister described the actions of the two officers as  "shameful," while the incident itself led to personnel changes within law enforcement. Zelensky said that patrol police response protocols need to be reviewed. According to Osadchuk, the two officers who responded to the call found themselves in the "red zone," an area where their lives were under immediate threat. Special forces evacuate hostages from a supermarket after a gunman opened fire and took hostages in the Holosiiv distric of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 18, 2026. (Eduard Kryzhanivskyi/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images) "The police were caught off guard and had to retreat, which they did. But what they did afterward is a good question," the lawmaker said. He added that Ukrainian society "does not tolerate the use of force by the police at all." There have been cases where patrol officers ended up on trial after using firearms. In 2016, while chasing a car in Kyiv, patrol officers fired a warning shot, which killed a 17-year-old passenger. One of the patrol officers was initially taken into custody and later placed under house arrest. The case has been dragging on for years. Hello there! This is Kateryna Denisova, the author of this piece. The Kyiv Independent doesn't have a wealthy owner or a paywall. Instead, we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism funded. If you liked this article, please consider joining our community today . Thank you. Kateryna Denisova is the reporter for the Kyiv Independent, specializing in Ukrainian politics. Based in Kyiv, she focuses on domestic affairs, parliament, and social issues. Kateryna began her career in journalism in 2020 and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Before joining the team, she worked at the NV media outlet. Kateryna also studied at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.