Direct proof of use
The public conflict-use record for the 120 mm M74 mortar in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War is a transfer and fielding record rather than a confirmed firing incident. Poland's official 2023 arms-export report lists Ukraine as the recipient of 22 M74 120 mm mortars under the UN Register category for large-caliber artillery systems.
A later Polish aid summary states that Ukraine purchased 22 120 mm M74 mortars from Poland during the 2022-2023 aid and export period. SIPRI's arms-transfer register records the same quantity as 22 M-74 120mm mortars ordered in 2022 and delivered in 2023, with Ukraine as recipient and Bosnia-Herzegovina as supplier.
Sources: Polish 2023 Arms Export Report, Polish Aid to Ukraine 2022-2023, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
Transfer timeline
SIPRI records the M-74 mortar order year as 2022, placing the procurement in the first year of the full-scale Russian invasion. The Polish aid summary describes the purchase alongside other Polish-supplied armored vehicles, artillery systems, mortars, rocket launchers, and small arms exported or donated to Ukraine.
The delivery and export evidence converges in 2023. Poland's official export report records the 22 M74 mortars as actual 2023 exports to Ukraine, while SIPRI lists 2023 deliveries for the same quantity.
Sources: Polish Aid to Ukraine 2022-2023, Polish 2023 Arms Export Report, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
Role in the conflict
Within the sourced Ukraine record, the M74 is best described as transferred Ukrainian 120 mm mortar fire-support equipment. The mortar itself is a Yugoslav-origin smoothbore, towed 120 mm infantry-support mortar; Yugoimport's product sheet describes the M74 as a close-support weapon for high-angle fire, smoke, illumination, and attacks on personnel, firing points, light fortifications, and similar targets.
The cited Ukraine sources do not identify a named Ukrainian unit, a firing date, a battlefield location, or the ammunition actually fired from these transferred mortars. The record therefore separates transfer and fielding evidence from confirmed battlefield employment: the mortars were documented as supplied to Ukraine during the war, but public sources checked for this entry do not prove a specific combat use event.
Sources: 120 mm M74 Product Sheet, Polish 2023 Arms Export Report, Polish Aid to Ukraine 2022-2023, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
