|   2026-07-30 07:58:38

Ukraine Lists 780,000 Weapons as Lost or Stolen Since 2022

More than 780,000 weapons have been recorded as lost or stolen in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to data compiled from the Ukrainian Interior Ministry’s register.

The database contained 780,465 such entries as of May, equivalent to two-thirds of all weapons listed in the register. Only 4% were classified as stolen, while the overwhelming majority were recorded as lost. Assault rifles, hunting shotguns and carbines were the most common categories.

A further 149,760 entries were added in the first months of 2026. However, that does not mean all the weapons disappeared this year: 60% of the newly added records concerned losses dating back to 2022. More than 173,000 cases were entered with a delay of over a year.

Separately, Palermo Chief Prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia told the Italian parliament’s anti-mafia commission that organized crime was seeking more sophisticated weapons. He referred to arms that had emerged on the black market during the war and said investigators had indications of purchases involving drone-launched munitions.

Ukraine has established a coordination center to combat illicit arms trafficking and says information about lost, seized and stolen weapons is regularly shared with Europol. At the center’s launch in February 2025, a representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said its data had not identified weapons trafficked from Ukraine into the European Union.

(lud)