Direct proof of use
The 100 mm 2A70 gun-launcher's clearest public use record in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War comes through Russian BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles. Army Recognition reported on January 26, 2024 that Russian 1st Guards Tank Army BMP-3 crews were supporting infantry in the Kupyansk direction from both indirect and direct fire positions, and attributed the indirect-fire role primarily to the BMP-3's 2A70 100 mm gun.
Russian official reporting and state media supplied the underlying event claim. RIA Novosti, citing Russia's Ministry of Defense, reported on January 22, 2024 that a BMP-3 crew from the 1st Guards Tank Army in the Western grouping fired on Ukrainian infantry and concealed positions in the Kupyansk direction after reconnaissance UAVs passed coordinates to an armored group. A Russian Ministry of Defense Telegram post in the same source stream described BMP-3 crews in the Kupyansk direction moving to closed firing positions and using the vehicle's full armament, including the 100 mm main caliber.
Sources: Army Recognition BMP-3 Indirect Fire, RIA Novosti BMP-3 Kupyansk Report, Russian MOD BMP-3 Kupyansk Telegram
Timeline
On July 3, 2023, Defense Express described Russian discussion of BMP-3 modernization influenced by combat experience in Ukraine, including a proposal to make indirect fire easier and a claim from Russian media that the 100 mm 2A70 gun could be used for both direct and indirect fire.
On January 22, 2024, Russian official reporting described a Kupyansk-direction BMP-3 engagement by crews of the 1st Guards Tank Army. On January 26, Army Recognition turned that report into a tactical analysis, identifying the direct and indirect fire-support role and naming the 2A70 100 mm gun as the main reason the BMP-3 could be used in that role. On March 19, 2024, Defense Express described the same pattern as an emerging Russian use of BMP-3s as quasi-artillery or assault-gun vehicles near Kupyansk.
Sources: Defense Express Closed-Position BMP-3, RIA Novosti BMP-3 Kupyansk Report, Army Recognition BMP-3 Indirect Fire, Defense Express BMP-3 Assault Guns
Battlefield role
In the sourced Ukraine-war record, the 2A70 appears as the BMP-3's 100 mm fire-support weapon rather than as a separate towed or self-propelled artillery piece. Rosoboronexport identifies the BMP-3 main weapon as a 2A70 100 mm semiautomatic rifled gun-launcher, with high-explosive fragmentation ammunition and anti-tank guided-missile rounds carried on the vehicle.
The reported battlefield role was suppression and attack of infantry, light fortifications, mortars, and Ukrainian positions from concealed or direct-fire positions. Army Recognition connected that role to the 2A70's ability to fire conventional projectiles and guided missiles, while Defense Express described Russian use of BMP-3s near Kupyansk as an improvised assault-gun or quasi-artillery role.
Sources: Rosoboronexport BMP-3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, Army Recognition BMP-3 Indirect Fire, Defense Express BMP-3 Assault Guns
Evidence limits
The cited sources directly support Russian-side BMP-3 fire-support use in the conflict and connect that role to the 2A70 gun-launcher. They do not provide an incident-by-incident log of 100 mm rounds fired, and they do not confirm a specific 9M117-family guided-missile launch from a 2A70 in this engagement.
The record also separates the carrier vehicle from the gun. BMP-3 losses, captures, or movements can show the vehicle's presence in the war, but this usage page relies on sources that specifically discuss firing roles or the 100 mm gun-launcher rather than treating every BMP-3 sighting as proof of 2A70 use.
Sources: Army Recognition BMP-3 Indirect Fire, Defense Express BMP-3 Assault Guns, Rosoboronexport BMP-3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle
