The case of "Odesa": the Ministry of Internal Affairs prevents snipers from destroying enemies

To successfully destroy the enemy, snipers lack high-quality cartridges and large-caliber bullets. As long as the state is not able to provide the military with a sufficient amount of the necessary ammunition, the initiative in reloading is taken over by caring Ukrainians. Another victim of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code Oleksandr Minkov "Odesa". After being wounded, Oleksandr started volunteering for the needs of sniper units. However, the law enforcement officers in pursuit of indicators stood in the way once again — the Zaporizhia police is trying to "sew" a criminal article on an active serviceman.

Oleksandr is charged with part 1 of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code, under which he faces up to 7 years of imprisonment. In the notification of suspicion, the law enforcement officers indicated that during the search, they found 6 grams of gunpowder and 3 cartridges in the soldier's possession. 

"On February 24, I left with my own weapons, B/K and my own transport. He fought as much as he could until he was wounded. During the service and subsequent treatment, my company worked and paid taxes, which are deducted in millions of hryvnias per year. For my taxes, the Zaporizhzhia police come to my house with searches and seize legal weapons. This worries me as a citizen and a soldier. What is the point of protecting such a police force?" - shares Oleksandr.

Oleksandr Minkov, call sign "Odesa", has been engaged in volunteering since 2015, then served in the 110th brigade of military personnel, was demobilized due to an injury and continued volunteering. But after treatment, he again joined the defense of Ukraine in a different structure. 

"In Ukraine, all snipers come to the point that for high-precision work you need to collect your own cartridge, which you get used to and with which you work stably. When I was written off, a common problem with our snipers on the line appeared - the lack of a target high-precision cartridge. It is expensive in weapon shops, and usually not available at all. Available hunting or sports cartridges are not quite suitable for our tasks. Accordingly, I decided to investigate this question of collecting a high-precision bullet with the characteristics required for a military sniper. In the warehouses of the RAO (Missile and Artillery Weapons Service), cartridges are present in a homeopathic quantity, especially this applies to TRO brigades. For half a year, I was able to effectively cooperate with active shooters on the production of the necessary cartridges and bullets." says the soldier. 

At his production, Oleksandr organized a workshop on reloading. The military comes to him, for which he prepares components so that they can assemble cartridges for the specifics of their rifle complex.  

“The 99% of my activity revolved around a large-caliber bullet in Magnum caliber (338 lapua) and there were plans to improve production to larger calibers. Distances are growing, so are the distance requirements. In order to protect the sniper, he needs to be as far away from the target as possible. We are already quietly closing 1,200-1,300 meters." - says Oleksandr Minkov. 

According to the defender, in order to effectively destroy the enemy, Ukraine needs to establish its own production of cartridges, projectiles, and protective equipment. Allied aid is not permanent, and during the 10 years of the war, no one cared about the deployment of workshops, workshops or enterprises for the production of weapons. 

"I didn't hide my activities and didn't really advertise them. Maybe I ordered specific parts for balls, for example, a ball tip, which gives a higher coefficient and, most importantly, stabilization. Accordingly, the Zaporizhia police did follow me. They drew for themselves such castles in the air, some kind of weapons workshop where they create attachments for leopard tanks or something similar." Minkov comments. 

The police conducted a series of searches and seized licensed and fired weapons, which is in the registers. 

"I use weapons at work, because I don't use state weapons. Zaporizhzhia police decided to take everything, including ammunition, from an active serviceman who must go on a mission. They are chasing after some pistols, cartridges. It seems that they are detached from reality. I am positive about the decriminalization of the production and storage of weapons, otherwise we will simply die and be destroyed. Questions about Art. 263 and its subsections are not based on any real law. They are preventing me from doing my job. I was not allowed to say goodbye to my child properly when I was leaving." 

In response to a petition to the president on the elimination of obstacles in the production of weapons and armaments, the Ministry of Internal Affairs replied that neither permits nor licenses are required for the production of weapons and ammunition for military purposes.  

However, despite this, police investigators continue to hinder volunteers and producers, bringing them to justice and continuing the post-Soviet tradition.

In the conditions of war, Ukrainians must have something to protect themselves, and our soldiers must be provided with ammunition. Bill #zp11073 regarding the decriminalization of weapons storage and production proposes to leave administrative responsibility (fine + confiscation) instead of criminal (imprisonment). The draft law is "hanging" in the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada without movement, and law enforcement officers continue to make indicators on volunteers, military personnel, manufacturers and veterans.