Supporting Ukraine in addressing the risks of small arms and light weapons proliferation from the Russian war of aggression

Context

Since February 2022, the war in Ukraine has continued unabated, and features regular reports of indiscriminate violence against civilians. When the war ends, Ukraine will not only have to rebuild infrastructure and resettle millions of displaced people, but the country will have to collect and dispose of the vast quantities of arms and ammunition lost and abandoned by combatants and stockpiled by civilians over the course of the war. The project seeks to support Ukraine and others in the region anticipate, face and address these challenges by helping fill critical knowledge, collaboration and capacity gaps. The Small Arms Survey will undertake this project together with the Center for Security Studies (CENSS) and in close cooperation with other researchers and practitioners working on arms monitoring and control in Ukraine.

Objectives

The overall goal of the project is to reduce the risks of illicit weapons and ammunition flows to, within, and from Ukraine, thereby contributing to long-term objectives of peace and security in Ukraine and Europe.

The project has identified two main objectives:

1. Policymakers, practitioners and the public benefit from an increased availability of timely, relevant and quality evidence and research on current and possible future threats posed by the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons, both within Ukraine and internationally.
2. CENSS and a growing number of Ukrainian practitioners and researchers have inclusive networking and learning exchanges with relevant international practitioners and policy experts.

Activities and outputs

Under objective 1:

• Establishment of a project dashboard and of a functioning network to advise the project and provide feedback on knowledge products.
• Preparation of four online reports on public perceptions of arms proliferation and related threats to security.
• Maintenance of an updated dataset of illicit small arms and light weapons in Ukraine, and preparation of monitoring reports on such weapons and ammunition.
• Publication of a consolidated report on the proliferation of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition from, within and to Ukraine.

Under objective 2:

• CENSS and a growing and inclusive network of Ukrainian practitioners, academics, and NGOs working on security issues participate in a cycle of knowledge sharing and training sessions with international experts to promote exchange and learning on matters of small arms proliferation.

Сontacts:

Viktoria Voronina – project manager from CENSS (095 567 66 83)
Antonina Domikan – administrative manager (097 453 95 40)

More details about the project activities:

Inception Meeting of the Ukrainian Network Group (September 29, 2023)

Webinar on the Threats of the Proliferation of Illegal 3D-Printed Weapons (December 6, 2023)

Working meeting of of the Ukrainian Network Group (December 12-13, 2023)