From Law to Practice: Training Ukraine’s Firearms Crimes Experts
January 08, 2026
EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) Ukraine organised a Trainer-of-Trainers course on investigating firearms-related crimes.
In mid-December 2025, in cooperation with the Odesa State University of Internal Affairs, the Mission trained 26 prosecutors, law-enforcement officers and university representatives on the application of criminal and criminal procedure legislation in procedural management and the investigation of firearms-related crimes.
The future trainers strengthened their practical skills and familiarised themselves with the specifics of national legislation and international law, as well as the criminal-law qualification of illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons (SALW) and relevant national court practice. The course also focused on tactics for conducting specific investigative (search) activities to detect, investigate and prosecute illicit SALW trafficking, alongside challenges related to the forensic examination of SALW.
The knowledge gained during the course will support the wider dissemination of best practices in procedural management and the investigation of SALW-related crimes. This, in turn, will help improve the day-to-day work of prosecutors, investigators and operational officers from law-enforcement agencies, including the Prosecutor’s Office, the National Police of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigation.
