Not just hiding: a member of the gun owners' association spoke about teaching children how to handle them
Kyiv • UNN
If a child is taught how to use a weapon, understands how dangerous it is, then the probability of an accident is much lower. However, this does not completely rule out accidents.
Yuriy Minkin, a member of the Ukrainian Association of Gun Owners, believes that if a child is taught how to use a weapon and understands its dangers, the likelihood of an accident is much lower. However, he himself added that this does not completely rule out accidents. He said this on the air of the telethon, as reported by UNN.
Details
Minkin commented on the tragic incident in Kyiv region, when a boy accidentally shot a neighbor's girl.
In my opinion, this is exclusively parental negligence, negligent storage of weapons
Minkin also explained how to properly store weapons to avoid tragic incidents, such as the one in Kyiv region.
There is an approved instruction that replaces our gun law. The instruction was approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs Order No. 622. Paragraph 12.12 clearly defines how weapons should be stored. They must be stored in a metal box or safe, but in such a way that excludes access by third parties. This is a normative definition. But by adhering to this norm, we largely protect ourselves and others from weapons falling into the wrong hands. But there is another nuance, if we are talking about children, there is a high probability that the child will find keys somewhere. Children are curious, they explore the world
Therefore, he noted, citing his own example, that as a father and gun owner, he always explained the danger and rules of handling weapons to his child.
That's why, as a father and gun owner, I always explained the danger and rules of handling weapons to my child, meaning not just hiding them. If a child is taught how to use a weapon, if we regularly go shooting, if the child understands how dangerous it is and how to check for a cartridge in the chamber, then the likelihood of an accident is much lower, this does not completely rule out accidents, but...
When asked whether schools should pay attention to this, Minkin replied: "Absolutely. There are a lot of weapons, there is a war going on in the country, so it is impossible to simply dismiss or distance ourselves from the fact that weapons are and will be around us. We need to educate."
We should add that parents should primarily protect children from contact with weapons. Even if a child is aware of the rules of handling them, this does not guarantee 100% safety for others, as Minkin himself pointed out.
In Ukraine, the law allows the use of various types of weapons from different ages: from 18 years old - cold, deactivated, pneumatic weapons and gas pistols, from 21 years old - hunting smoothbore weapons, and from 25 years old - hunting rifled weapons.
Addition
UNN reported that in one of the villages of Boryspil district, Kyiv region, a 7-year-old boy shot a neighbor's girl with a shotgun.
The police later reported that in Kyiv region, the police are investigating the circumstances of an accident that resulted in the death of a child after a shot from a neighbor's boy's shotgun, a criminal case has been opened, and the boy's father has been detained.
The situation with weapons in Ukraine
In early March 2022, the Law on Ensuring the Participation of Civilians in the Defense of Ukraine was adopted, which granted state authorities the right to issue weapons to citizens for repelling Russia's armed aggression. According to the provisions of the law, citizens participating in the defense of the country are not subject to criminal liability for attempting to repel aggression.
This bill was initiated to strengthen the country's defense capabilities and demoralize the enemy. During the first years of the full-scale war, measures were taken that allowed citizens to obtain firearms, as well as voluntarily surrender them to law enforcement agencies, and for the period of martial law - to declare them.
Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was amended at the beginning of the full-scale war so that a person would not bear criminal responsibility if they voluntarily surrendered weapons. As a result, civilians voluntarily surrender about 1,000 unregistered weapons annually.
In July 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that Ukrainians had already officially declared over 11,000 units of firearms and more than 5 million ammunition. And the campaign for voluntary declaration of weapons, which can be surrendered to the nearest National Police unit, continues.
In Ukraine, in 2024, 5,898 offenses were recorded due to illegal handling of weapons, ammunition, or explosives.
In 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the number of offenses involving firearms, explosives, and ammunition increased 42 times in the third year of the war.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs also noted that the next systemic stage is the adoption of the basic draft Law "On the Right to Civilian Firearms" reg. No. 5708. It is important that the procedure for manufacturing, acquiring, storing, accounting for, transporting, and using firearms is regulated at the level of law, and not a by-law.
Bill No. 5708 was supported by 274 MPs in the first reading back on February 23, 2022.
US experience with guns
According to a study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, the loosening of gun laws in the US has caused thousands of child deaths.
In 2022, The Guardian reported that the US gun death rate reached a 30-year high, with deaths among women rising faster than among men.
The study shows that gun-related homicides among Black women have more than tripled since 2010, and gun suicides have doubled since 2015.