Most residents of Mykolaiv oppose unrestricted gun ownership in Ukraine — survey results

Why are most city residents opposed to civilian gun ownership?

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26 Apr 2026

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After the terrorist attack in Kyiv the topic of allowing civilians to possess short-barreled firearms has once again become one of the hottest in society. On its Telegram channel Korabelov.info in April 2026 they conducted an anonymous poll among subscribers to find out the position of Mykolaiv residents regarding this initiative.

Almost 1 000 respondents took part in the vote. Of them:

45% — opposed, considering it dangerous.
24% supported the idea, but only under strict control.
22% are convinced that civilians should be allowed weapons without reservations.
9% were undecided.

Discussion in the comments showed deep distrust of the justice system and law enforcement agencies. Some users emphasize that even in cases of self-defense a person risks ending up on the defendant’s bench due to the imperfections of the judicial system and corruption. Others point to the formal nature of medical checks, which may not detect inadequate individuals.

“The point isn’t whether it’s needed or not… It’s that, given today’s judiciary and corruption, it will be difficult to prove in court that you were defending yourself when you really were, and not end up in prison afterwards because you had a gun permit that didn’t leave you free,” – commented Marina.
“Yes, it’s needed. All disputes should be resolved with knives or shooting. If both have knives or firearms, the stronger will win, and if one has a knife and the other a pistol, then justice is on the side of the one with the pistol. If you have nothing, you’re unlucky, although… one should be allowed to obtain weapons in battle,” – Vladyslav remarked sarcastically.

Some discussion participants express concerns that under current conditions mass arming of the population could lead to an increase in violence, especially in view of the war, mobilization and the tense situation in society. At the same time, opposing views are voiced — about the right to self-defense and the need for equal opportunities for all citizens.

“Our system doesn’t work, everyone knows how medical commissions were and are conducted when getting a job — no one checks anything if you’re not registered, they just put a stamp (narcologist, psychologist), they don’t ask questions. If the adequacy check is somehow strengthened, in principle it’s possible. But on the other hand, who can guarantee that more such people won’t appear and that there won’t be frequent shooting incidents. In the USA even not all states allow carrying weapons. In general, to study this issue you need to look at the example of the USA. The judicial system is also not ready, it’s hard to determine the level of threat for the use of lethal weapons, even the police are prohibited from using firearms if a person, for example, has a bat — there you need to use a stun gun. Right now is certainly not the time to think about this: TCK will have weapons, people will have weapons — and then there will be a slaughter,” – added Dmytro.

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