A soldier who attempted to sell machine guns has been arrested

The State Bureau of Investigations has exposed an instructor from a battalion of one of the military units who attempted to sell two machine guns and ammunition. The suspect was caught red-handed while handing over the weapons to a buyer with whom he had made arrangements via a messaging app. 

This was reported by the SBI.

According to the investigation, the servicemember valued the arsenal at 175,000 hryvnias. During the arrest, law enforcement officers seized two machine guns and ammunition for them. The issue of transferring these weapons directly to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for use in repelling Russian aggression is currently being decided.

The suspect has been notified of charges of illegal handling of weapons and ammunition under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This article provides for a penalty of imprisonment for up to seven years. Investigative actions are ongoing to determine the origin of the weapons and identify any possible accomplices of the detainee.

In the Chernihiv region, border guards and police officers discovered a cache of ammunition in a non-residential building in one of the villages. Serviceable ammunition will be transferred to the Defense Forces, while unserviceable ammunition will be destroyed.

Meanwhile, the SBU’s military counterintelligence has located two more hidden arsenals of weapons and ammunition in frontline areas in southern and eastern Ukraine.