Tundra hunters are requested to donate weapons to war
Authorities in northern Russia address indigenous communities with a plea: hand in your private hunting weapons and ammo to support warriors in Ukraine.
The army that previously branded itself as one of the world's strongest appears to be in a dire need of more guns. Authorities in the far northern Yamal-Nenets region have now started to reach out to locals.
"Dear residents of the Tazov area! You have the opportunity to donate weapons and ammunition in your possession for use in the special military operation," a social media post from the local government reads.
"Your support can make an important contribution to the common cause," the authorities emphasize.
Tazov is located by the Gulf of Ob, the vast Arctic waterway that leads into the Kara Sea. The local population mainly belong to the indigenous Nenets people. Many are reindeer herders and hunters.
According to local Mayor Viktor Yugai, he has himself donated his private shotgun.
"For me it is an honour to be part of the passionate team of locals that support our warriors," he says in a statement.
On his social media page, Yugai is seen posing with what appears as a semi-automatic shotgun of the Ege brand.
The initiative to start collecting local hunting weapons originally came from regional Governor Dmitry Artyukhov. The regional leader, who himself several times have been on occupied Ukrainian land, argues that the hunting weapons will be used to fight drones.
According to Artyukhov, there are more than 20,000 private hunting weapons in his region, many of which are not being used.
Donated weapons will be brought to the front by local soldiers on leave from service, the governor explains. Some of them have already arrived to frontline fighters. In a video, two warriors stand on occupied land with what reportedly are donated shotguns.
But not everyone is happy with the initiative.
"Why does not the Ministry of Defence buy the weapons from arms companies?" a local asks on a local social media page.
"What, there are no smoothbore guns in the country?" another man asks.
Others argue that the authorities should rather send the many hunting weapons that over the years have been confiscated by the police.
Judging from the National Guard (Rosgvardia) in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, as many as 266 local hunters were deprived their right to carry guns only in the first half year of 2024. The reported reason was lack of medical certificates. In the same period, more than 210 weapons were confiscated and destroyed, local authorities say.
The Yamal-Nenets region is one of Russia's biggest producers of natural gas and oil, and Governor Dmitry Artyukhov has repeatedly donated big number of vehicles and other goods to frontline fighters.
At the same time, the Arctic region has lost hundreds of men in the war. Only from the Tazov municipality, more than 35 local soldiers have been killed, information from Telegram Channel Ne Zhdi Menya iz Ukrainy shows.
Most of the local killed men were from the indigenous communities.
