In Ukraine, there has been a rapid increase in the number of cases of loss and theft of weapons since the beginning of the full-scale war. As of May 2026, the register has already recorded 780,465 units of missing weapons, which accounts for almost two-thirds of all cases since the accounting began. In total, the database contains over 1.17 million units of weapons that are currently being searched for.
This is reported by Finway
Record low of 2026: large-scale losses of weapons
The largest increase in cases of loss or theft of weapons was recorded in 2022, when over 266,000 units were added to the state register. After a slight decrease in 2023, a new wave of growth is observed in 2026. In just a few months of the current year, about 150,000 units have already been declared missing, which is nearly equal to the total for the entire previous year. A particularly sharp increase occurred in March 2026, when the database was replenished with more than 130,000 records. A significant portion of these cases concerns weapons lost in the early months of the full-scale invasion.
What types of weapons are most often missing and where does this occur
Among the missing weapons, the following dominate:
- Assault rifles – over 252,000 units;
- Shotguns – over 210,000;
- Carbines – over 102,000.
The leader among models is the AK-74 assault rifle, which accounts for about a quarter of all records. Additionally, the register includes grenade launchers, machine guns, pistols, and other types of firearms.
The highest number of cases of loss or theft of weapons has been recorded in the Mykolaiv region — over 169,000 cases. Following are Kyiv (over 104,000) and Donetsk region (over 86,000).
“The majority of records in the register pertain to the loss of weapons, while cases of theft constitute only a small fraction. More than half of such cases are recorded by law enforcement in the first days after the disappearance, however, a significant amount of information is entered into the database with considerable delays – sometimes more than a year after the loss.”
Additionally, it has been reported that recently the State Customs Service of Ukraine, together with the Ministry of Defense, uncovered numerous instances of abuse of humanitarian aid for the Armed Forces. Illegal importation of weapons, military equipment, as well as commercial sales of vehicles that entered Ukraine under the guise of military aid were discovered.