Since 2014 Ukraine has had to defend itself against Russian Federation attacks. Over the past decade many Ukrainians volunteered or were mobilized to defend the country, resulting in about 400,000 veterans from the 2014–15 conflict alone (Guest et al., 2022). International sources report a current standing army of approximately 680,000 active personnel, with 200,000 deployed at the front lines (Dettmer, 2024). The minister of defence stated that around 1 million people are in the security and military sector, including 800,000 in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Armyinform, 2023). The mobilization effort has created a significant population group with recent combat experience, and has altered relationships with firearms. To explore this, the Small Arms Survey combined responses from the last two survey waves (December 2023 and July 2024) to compare firearm-related experiences and attitudes among individuals and families who participated in the defence of the country over the past decade.
Among the 3,500 individuals interviewed in December 2023 and July 2024, nearly one-quarter of respondents (23%) stated that they lived in households where members were currently or formerly engaged in hostilities. Notably, more than 5% of respondents indicated their own involvement in the Joint Force Operation/Anti-Terrorist Operation stage of hostilities or the ongoing full-scale war—sometimes in both. Twelve per cent of those who have fought in the war since 2014 were women, and about 2% of all respondents in the July 2024 survey reported that they were currently serving in the military.[1]
Having fought in the war significantly influences individuals’ perceptions of firearms in civilian life. Although the group of survey participants—186 individuals—is relatively small, limiting generalizations from their responses, the differences between this group and the broader population are notable. While there may be some uncertainty in the estimates, the patterns are clear (see Table 4).
The likelihood of reporting firearm ownership triples in households with a military veteran or current combatant among their members, rising from 3% to 9%. This increases eight-fold to 24% when respondents themselves have personally participated in combat.
This may include service weapons, but 16% of current and former combatants confirmed that they personally owned a firearm, while 40% expressed a desire to own one. This suggests that more than half of this group could potentially become firearm owners if access becomes more readily available and legal. The challenge of obtaining weapons and ammunition in Ukraine is evident, because only one-fifth of this group believe it is easy to acquire a firearm or ammunition. While this is higher than the 9% average in the general population, it is significantly lower than the 40% of Ukrainians who felt it was easy to acquire a firearm in our 2019 survey. Because national regulations have moved in a more permissive direction under martial law (Hideg, 2023), the increased difficulties of access can only be linked to limited supply because of the high demand for firearms on the front lines and/or increased civilian demand to acquire firearms. The latter is, however, not confirmed by a resulting increase in the firearms possession rate among civilians.
Among current and former combatants, 50% of gun-owning veterans keep firearms with the expectation of some form of future conflict, compared to 12% of firearm owners in the general population without personal or family involvement in the war. Additionally,
many in the combatant group reported carrying various weapons for self-protection. For instance, 20% stated they carried a firearm ‘for security reasons’ linked to concerns about crime in their area.
More than half (55%) of current and former combatants believe that having a firearm at home enhances safety, compared to 29% of households without veterans. Even those living with veterans reported a similarly low perception of the safety benefits of firearm ownership. This difference reflects the belief among firearm owners—over-represented in the combatant group—that firearms contribute to personal security.
[1] This question was not asked previously, hence no trend is available.
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