Budanov opposes legalizing weapons for civilians

According to Ukrinform, citing Hromadske, he said this while speaking with journalists during the 18th Kyiv Security Forum.

"I have always been against this and I repeat again: against simply legalizing it to distribute weapons to people. This has never worked and it will not work now either. Do not forget that it always has two sides. The first is an imagined sense of protection. The other side is that the number of incidents, which everyone saw a few days ago, could increase many times over under such a configuration. It would simply be in everyone's hands. This threatens far greater problems than what we have now," he said.

In addition, he expressed the view that Ukraine has a systemic problem, the consequences of which are visible today — particularly regarding accountability for law enforcement officers when using weapons on duty.

"Recall when there were bad cases of weapon use — everyone remembers 2014. Everyone was made guilty. That is understandable and could not have been otherwise. But how did that affect those who continued to serve? They do not use weapons because the consequences will be severe. Then remember when the patrol police were created. Almost immediately there was a case when officers chased a civilian car and started shooting at the wheels. What happened to the officers? They were convicted. There are thousands of such cases. Why does everyone think that in such a system, where the state does not protect its own defenders, these defenders will carry out their duties to the end?" he said.

As reported, on April 18 in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, a man opened fire on people, then took hostages in a store and shot at police during his detention. Negotiators attempted to establish contact with him. He was ultimately neutralized.

The Prosecutor General's Office stated that the shooter was a native of Moscow.

According to the Interior Ministry, the suspect had a registered weapon — a carbine.

In total, six people were initially reported dead and 14 injured in the shooting. On April 20, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the death toll had risen to seven.

Investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine classified the shooting of civilians and the hostage-taking in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district as a terrorist act.