Guns from Front Flood Courts

Since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian servicemen are being prosecuted for weapons offenses at least three times more often, according to court data reviewed by the independent outlet Verstka.

The publication analyzed records from garrison courts and found that, after the invasion, the number of criminal cases against military personnel accused of illegally handling weapons rose sharply. In 2021, courts registered 41 such cases involving the purchase, sale, storage, transport, or theft of arms and ammunition. By 2023, the figure had grown to 137 and remained at about the same level in 2024.

Roughly a quarter of all cases since the start of the war have been heard in garrisons in Kursk and Crimea, near the Ukraine border. Before 2022, such prosecutions were more common in Moscow and the Moscow Oblast, the North Caucasus, Siberia, and the Far East.

Only about a third of verdicts are publicly available, but even those show that both mobilized soldiers and career servicemen have faced charges, most often for attempting to smuggle weapons and ammunition home from the front. Verstka reported that most defendants were detained during roadside inspections in border regions, or when police discovered weapons in their luggage during checks at airports and train stations. In some cases, fellow soldiers, relatives, or would-be buyers alerted authorities.

One mobilized soldier from Vladikavkaz, Nikolai Kostin, who had been awarded the Zhukov medal, was tried after bringing home a Makarov pistol and cartridges as a “trophy” during his May 2023 leave. His wife informed police after he threatened her with the gun during an argument. Kostin received a suspended three-and-a-half-year sentence.

More than 60% of published verdicts resulted in suspended prison terms or fines. Corporal Timur Savosin, who fought in Syria, Africa, and Ukraine, was fined R30,000 ($370) after law enforcement discovered that he had hidden a Kalashnikov rifle, a pistol, and hundreds of rounds. In other cases, courts imposed prison terms. The analysis by Verstka showed that about 40% of convicted servicemen were sent to prison. Two soldiers, Sergey Goryachevsky and Yevgeny Kuliev, who stole three assault rifles and offered buyers ammunition and grenades as “gifts,” received seven and four years in prison, respectively.

A soldier identified as Alexei, who served on the front in 2023–24, told Verstka that smuggling weapons is not difficult because much of it is “written off.” Commanders file daily reports on losses, he said. When there are none, the figures are copied from earlier reports, creating a surplus that does not exist in official documents but remains in warehouses.

Not all weapons make it to the black market, however. Verstka’s review of darknet forums found only one post offering rifles that appeared to come from the front lines. Some sellers told the outlet that such weapons do appear online but are usually distributed privately. Forum users estimated that 90% of weapons advertised in the darknet are reworked from deactivated models, and that new regulations have further reduced the number of sellers.

Nevertheless, weapons trafficking by servicemen is reflected in court verdicts. For instance, soldiers from the 71st Motor Rifle Division sold Kalashnikovs to residents of a nearby village for R15,000 ($180) per rifle. A mobilized soldier, Mikhail Kuzmichev, tried to sell a decommissioned Val rifle, two magazines, and 24 cartridges to someone he thought was a Wagner Group mercenary for R800,000 (nearly $9,900). Contract soldier Alexander Andreychuk, awarded the Medal for Courage, attempted to sell a stolen AK-74, first for R50,000 ($620) and later for R10,000 ($120).