Some 100,000 Munitions Handed Over to East Ukraine Authorities Over Week

Local police pf Lugansk People's Republic stockpiled a sizable collection of firearms and ammo, including more than 38,000 cartridges, close to 14,000 bullets, 169 grenades, 28 submachine guns, three man-portable Shmel rocket launchers and one anti-tank rocket launcher, that were handed by local residents.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Residents in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) handed over to local authorities over 50,000 units of weapons and an equal number of ammo over the past week, the LPR Interior Ministry's press office said Sunday.

This came after security authorities in the breakaway region in eastern Ukraine called on civilians to lay down arms by the April 5 deadline.

"Answering the call from the Republic's leader and its security agencies, residents continue handing over weapons and ammunition to the Interior Ministry, the commandant's office and the LPR prosecutor's office," the ministry told a Lugansk news agency.

A decree issued by the Lugansk Interior Ministry requires all armed groups that are not part of the regular LPR forces – militias, defense units and law enforcement agencies – to disarm by the end of the week, or to be prosecuted.

Local police said earlier they have stockpiled a sizable collection of firearms and ammo, including more than 38,000 cartridges, close to 14,000 bullets, 169 grenades, 28 submachine guns, three man-portable Shmel rocket launchers and one anti-tank rocket launcher.

The regulation is in line with the renewed ceasefire deal that was agreed on in February in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The 13-point agreement requires that all illegal groups disarm and all mercenaries leave the conflict area.