December 28, 2025
President Vladimir Putin of Russia has signed a law extending the transitional period for the lawful storage of firearms in the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk People`s Republics (DNR and LNR). This extension applies to permits previously issued by Ukrainian internal affairs bodies or the state organs of the DNR and LNR.
The new deadline for this transitional period is now officially set for January 1, 2027.
Details of the New Legislation
The law ensures the continued validity of existing permits for the possession, carrying, and use of weapons and ammunition owned by Russian citizens and legal entities, provided these documents were originally issued by the internal affairs bodies of Ukraine or the state authorities of the DNR and LNR.
The legislation includes crucial stipulations regarding compliance:
- If existing permits expire, owners must surrender the weapons and ammunition for temporary storage to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) beginning January 1, 2026. This must be done while the owners await the mandatory compliance verification and the issuance of new storage permits by the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) or its territorial organs.
- Failure to hand over weapons after the permit expires will result in the confiscation of the firearms and ammunition, in accordance with established Russian weapons legislation.
Furthermore, the law makes it explicitly prohibited to store weapons and ammunition without the corresponding storage permits issued by Rosgvardia or its territorial bodies starting January 1, 2027. Any such items found after this date will be subject to seizure under the law.
Additionally, the signed document clarifies provisions governing the cooperation between the Federal Security Service (FSB) and various Russian and foreign institutions. Specifically, the FSB is granted the right to receive copies of databases (or parts thereof) free of charge from organizations, provided the information is required for the fulfillment of the duties assigned to the FSB.
The law is scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2025.
