Soldier released from prison for keeping arsenal in Mykolaiv

A court in Mykolaiv has released a serviceman from punishment for illegal possession of weapons and ammunition. During searches in his apartment and garages, law enforcement officers found explosives, grenades, assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Ingulsky District Court of Mykolaiv.

According to the investigation, in January 2024, an explosion occurred in one of Mykolaiv's high-rise buildings. Fortunately, there were no civilian casualties, but the blast wave injured the owner of the apartment, a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Upon arrival, law enforcement officers found that the explosion was caused by an improved device. Law enforcement officers searched the apartment and found a whole arsenal. Further investigative actions led law enforcement to several rented garages in Mykolaiv, where they found real warehouses of military equipment.

In total, they were seized:

• hexogen-based explosives
• over 6,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers;
• Kalashnikov assault rifles, machine guns and Dragunov rifles
• grenades, including RGD and F-1 combat grenades;
• under-barrel grenade launchers and an anti-tank grenade launcher;
• mines, fuses and explosive packages;
• drones and auxiliary equipment.

According to the ruling, the weapons were stored without proper conditions and could detonate at any time, posing a serious danger to the residents of the area.

At the trial, the serviceman did not deny the fact that he had stored the weapons. He stated that he was doing it allegedly "in the interests of the state" and refused to name the sources of the arsenal, citing state secrets. In fact, according to him, he was collecting weapons to have them "in reserve." However, he did not provide any documentary evidence of cooperation with official structures or special orders.

The investigation insisted that the man acted arbitrarily, without any authority, and his actions posed a threat to others. The case was considered under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - illegal acquisition, carrying and storage of weapons and ammunition. The maximum penalty under this article is up to 7 years in prison.

As a result, the court found the man guilty and sentenced him to three years in prison. However, given all the mitigating circumstances, he was released from serving his sentence with a probationary period of one year. The court ordered the bail of over UAH 121,000, which was paid during the investigation, to be returned to the bailor.

In July, a court in Mykolaiv also released a former military officer who was illegally storing ammunition. He explained that he had brought the grenade and ammunition from the war zone after being wounded. The court noted his awards for service, including the Golden Cross, and ordered him to periodically register with the probation authorities.

Анна Бальчінос