2014 Russia-Ukraine War

2A65 Msta-B in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

The 2A65 Msta-B has been documented in Ukrainian and Russian service in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, with Ukrainian crews photographed firing the gun and Russian examples recorded in battlefield-loss and strike reporting.

Weapon profile2A65 Msta-B
SideRussiaUkraineRoleFire Support
2A65 Msta-B, 152 mm towed howitzer, Artillery - 2014 Russia-Ukraine War
Image source: File:2A65 Msta-B.JPG

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Ukrainian forces fired a 2A65 Msta-B toward Russian troops on a Zaporizhzhia-region frontline on January 5, 2023.

Sources: Reuters Zaporizhzhia 2A65 Photo

Members of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade fired a 152 mm 2A65 Msta-B near Bakhmut on February 6, 2023.

Sources: VOA Bakhmut 2A65 Photo

Russian forces fielded 2A65 Msta-B howitzers during the full-scale invasion, with Oryx recording visually confirmed Russian losses and captures.

Sources: Oryx Russian Equipment Losses

A Russian Msta-B was reported destroyed by a Ukrainian FPV drone in the Lyman sector in August 2025.

Sources: Ukrinform Lyman Msta-B Strike

Ukrainian 2A65 Msta-B losses are also recorded in open-source loss tracking, supporting continued Ukrainian fielding of the type.

Sources: Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses

Timeline

2A65 Msta-B In 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

  1. Ukrainian Msta-B firing in Zaporizhzhia region

    Reuters identified a Ukrainian serviceman firing a 2A65 Msta-B toward Russian troops on a Zaporizhzhia-region frontline.

    Sources: Reuters Zaporizhzhia 2A65 Photo

  2. 3rd Separate Assault Brigade Msta-B near Bakhmut

    Voice of America identified members of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade firing a 152 mm 2A65 Msta-B near Bakhmut in Donetsk region.

    Sources: VOA Bakhmut 2A65 Photo

  3. Russian Msta-B reported destroyed in Lyman sector

    Ukrinform reported that a Ukrainian FPV-drone pilot from the SIGNUM battalion destroyed a Russian Msta-B howitzer in the Lyman sector.

    Sources: Ukrinform Lyman Msta-B Strike

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Direct public evidence places the 2A65 Msta-B in Ukrainian frontline use during the full-scale phase of the war. Reuters identified a Ukrainian serviceman firing a 2A65 Msta-B toward Russian troops on a Zaporizhzhia-region frontline on January 5, 2023, and Voice of America published a February 6, 2023 image caption identifying members of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade firing a 152 mm 2A65 Msta-B near Bakhmut in Donetsk region.

Russian use is documented through visually confirmed loss tracking and later strike reporting. Oryx's Russian equipment-loss list for the full-scale invasion records 136 Russian 152 mm 2A65 Msta-B howitzers as destroyed, damaged, abandoned, captured, or damaged and captured. Ukrinform separately reported on August 29, 2025 that a Ukrainian FPV-drone pilot destroyed a Russian Msta-B in the Lyman sector and described the system as actively used by Russia in the war.

Sources: Reuters Zaporizhzhia 2A65 Photo, VOA Bakhmut 2A65 Photo, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Ukrinform Lyman Msta-B Strike

Timeline

The dated public record is concentrated in the full-scale invasion period. The clearest events are photo-documented Ukrainian firing in January and February 2023, followed by continued Russian use and losses shown in open-source loss lists and 2025 battlefield reporting.

Sources: Reuters Zaporizhzhia 2A65 Photo, VOA Bakhmut 2A65 Photo, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Ukrinform Lyman Msta-B Strike

Battlefield role

The 2A65 Msta-B appears in the war as conventional towed 152 mm tube artillery. The weapon is a Soviet-designed split-trail howitzer, and U.S. Army ODIN describes the Msta-B, also designated 2A65, as a 152 mm towed howitzer developed toward the end of the Cold War.

On the Ukrainian side, the Reuters and Voice of America captions document the gun being fired from frontlines in southern and eastern Ukraine during the winter fighting of 2023. Those examples show the weapon in the same fire-support role as other Soviet-caliber artillery still present in Ukrainian service after the full-scale invasion.

On the Russian side, the evidence is strongest as a fielding and attrition record. Oryx lists Russian 2A65 Msta-B losses and captures during the invasion, while Ukrinform's Lyman-sector report describes a Russian Msta-B hidden in a shelter and destroyed by a Ukrainian FPV drone. Oryx's separate Ukrainian equipment-loss list also records Ukrainian 2A65 Msta-B losses, reinforcing that the howitzer remained present on both sides rather than appearing only as prewar inventory.

Sources: ODIN 2A65 Msta-B, Reuters Zaporizhzhia 2A65 Photo, VOA Bakhmut 2A65 Photo, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses, Ukrinform Lyman Msta-B Strike

Related Weapons by Role

Drone-dropped fragmentation grenade, Improvised grenade-drop tactic using a commercial UAV, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsDrone-dropped fragmentation grenadeImprovised grenade-drop tactic using a commercial UAVDrone-dropped fragmentation grenade is a field-adapted strike method that uses commercial quadcopters or similar small UAVs to release hand grenades or comparable fragmentation charges. Reporting from Ukraine and Gaza ties the method to improvised battlefield use by multiple sides, while a 2025 U.S. Army test with a Skydio X10D, an Audible dropper, and an M67 grenade shows the same concept moving into formal experimentation.
120-PM-38, 120 mm towed heavy mortar, ArtilleryArtillery120-PM-38120 mm towed heavy mortarThe 120-PM-38, also known as the M1938, is a Soviet 120 mm smoothbore heavy mortar designed under B. I. Shavyrin and built for infantry fire support. Its large bomb, two-wheel transport arrangement, and roughly 5.7 km range made it a durable regimental mortar design; OSCE monitoring documented PM-38 mortars in Donbas heavy-weapons holding and storage records during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, while Oryx listed M-1938 heavy mortars in Yemen's pre-war army inventory.
2S23 Nona-SVK, 120 mm wheeled self-propelled gun-mortar, ArtilleryArtillery2S23 Nona-SVK120 mm wheeled self-propelled gun-mortarThe 2S23 Nona-SVK is a Russian 120 mm self-propelled gun-mortar that adapts the Nona artillery system to a BTR-80 8x8 armored chassis. Its rifled 2A60 weapon can provide direct or indirect fire with mortar bombs, artillery projectiles, and selected guided ammunition, giving motorized units a compact battalion-level fire-support vehicle. The type was reported in Chechnya during Russian service testing and later appeared in 2014 Russia-Ukraine War battlefield reporting, including visually confirmed Russian losses and captured vehicles.
2S40 Floks, 120 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer/mortar, ArtilleryArtillery2S40 Floks120 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer/mortarThe 2S40 Floks is a Russian 120 mm wheeled self-propelled gun-mortar developed by Burevestnik under the Nabrosok artillery program and mounted on an armored Ural-4320 6x6 chassis. Open reporting ties it to Russian battlefield use in Ukraine from October 2023, where Ukrainian drone units documented strikes against newly fielded systems while Rostec and defense references describe the platform's combined mortar, howitzer-style indirect-fire, and direct-fire roles.
2S5 Giatsint-S, 152 mm tracked self-propelled gun, ArtilleryArtillery2S5 Giatsint-S152 mm tracked self-propelled gunThe 2S5 Giatsint-S is a Soviet 152 mm tracked self-propelled gun built for long-range corps- and army-level fire support. Its open rear-mounted 2A37 gun gives it greater reach than many older Soviet 152 mm systems, while its tracked chassis and stabilizing rear spade support shoot-and-move artillery work. Sources document 2S5 use or fielding context from Afghanistan and Grozny through the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, where Russian units use the system and Ukrainian troops have restored at least one captured example for combat use.
2S35 Koalitsiya-SV, 152 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer, ArtilleryArtillery2S35 Koalitsiya-SV152 mm tracked self-propelled howitzerThe 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV is a Russian 152 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer developed as a highly automated successor to the 2S19 Msta-S, pairing a 2A88 gun, automated loading, digital fire-control features, and a T-90-derived chassis for long-range tube-artillery missions. Russian and specialist reporting placed small numbers near the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War front from late 2023, but the direct conflict record remains source-limited and centered on counter-battery claims rather than verified large-scale fielding.
2S43 Malva, 152 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer, ArtilleryArtillery2S43 Malva152 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzerThe 2S43 Malva is a Russian 152 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer that places a 2A64 gun on a BAZ 8x8 chassis for faster road moves and lower operating demands than tracked turreted artillery. Developed through the Nabrosok wheeled-artillery program, it entered Russian deliveries in 2023 and has since been documented with Russian forces in Ukraine, including reconnaissance sightings, Ukrainian strike reports, and visually confirmed losses.
M107 155 mm high-explosive projectile, 155 mm high-explosive projectile, ArtilleryArtilleryM107 155 mm high-explosive projectile155 mm high-explosive projectileThe M107 is a conventional 155 mm high-explosive projectile with a forged-steel body, TNT or Composition B fill, and deep- or normal-cavity variants for different fuze fits. U.S. Army ammunition records list it as an operations-and-sustainment item, Modern War Institute reporting places the M107 family in Ukraine's 155 mm ammunition mix, and U.S. emergency-sale notices document M107 deliveries to Israel during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War.
2S4 Tyulpan, 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar, ArtilleryArtillery2S4 Tyulpan240 mm self-propelled heavy mortarThe 2S4 Tyulpan is a Soviet 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar built around a large breech-loaded 2B8 mortar on a tracked chassis. Its unusually heavy bombs, guided and special-purpose ammunition options, and low rate of fire make it a siege and bunker-attack weapon rather than a conventional rapid-fire howitzer. Russian forces used it in Chechnya and have fielded or lost examples in Ukraine, where its size and firing signature make it a high-value counter-battery target.
DShKM heavy machine gun, 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsDShKM heavy machine gun12.7 mm heavy machine gunThe DShKM is the Soviet postwar Model 38/46 modernization of the DShK 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, retaining the DShK family's anti-aircraft, infantry-support, and vehicle-mount roles while replacing the earlier feed system. Sources document the DShK-1938/46 in Vietnam War anti-aircraft use, DShK-M capture and employment in the Soviet-Afghan War, DShK-M use by Ukrainian defenders, and DShK/DShKM variants in Islamic State's Iraq-and-Syria arsenal.
W85 heavy machine gun, 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsW85 heavy machine gun12.7 mm heavy machine gunThe W85 is a Chinese 12.7x108 mm heavy machine gun associated with Norinco export channels and the QJC-88 vehicle-mounted variant. It is lighter than many older DShK-pattern heavy machine guns and can be used from tripod, pintle, vehicle, or improvised pickup mounts. Conflict reporting documents W85-family guns with ISWAP-linked forces in Nigeria, Ukrainian mobile anti-drone teams, YPG/SDF improvised armor in Syria, Iraqi PMU militias, and Wagner-linked imagery from Mali, while sources caution that export paths and quantities are often unclear.
122 mm artillery round, 122 mm artillery ammunition, MunitionsMunitions122 mm artillery round122 mm artillery ammunitionThe 122 mm artillery round is a family-level label for Soviet-origin medium-caliber artillery ammunition used by D-30-type towed howitzers and 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers. Manufacturer and military references describe separate-loading HE projectiles with full or reduced propelling charges, while U.S. security-assistance reporting documents 122 mm artillery rounds among ammunition committed to Ukraine and TWZ reporting describes a pair of 122 mm rounds as a standard AQ-400 Scythe payload.
155 mm NATO-standard ammunition, 155 mm NATO-standard artillery ammunition family, MunitionsMunitions155 mm NATO-standard ammunition155 mm NATO-standard artillery ammunition family155 mm NATO-standard ammunition is the shared Western artillery ammunition family organized around NATO JBMOU and STANAG requirements, with separate projectile, fuze, primer, and propelling-charge elements depending on the round. The family matters in conflict records because official sources document 155 mm rounds in Ukrainian artillery supply and coalition M777A2 fire missions during Operation Inherent Resolve.
9M27K1 cargo rocket, 220 mm Uragan cluster cargo rocket carrying 30 9N235 submunitions, MunitionsMunitions9M27K1 cargo rocket220 mm Uragan cluster cargo rocket carrying 30 9N235 submunitionsThe 9M27K1 is a Soviet/Russian 220 mm Uragan cargo rocket designed for the BM-27 9K57 launcher family. Technical and humanitarian-monitoring sources identify it as the Uragan round that carries 30 9N235 high-explosive fragmentation submunitions over a 10 to 35 km envelope, with Ukraine-war reporting often grouping it with the closely related 9M27K because their remnants can be difficult to separate without markings.
Back to 2A65 Msta-BBrowse 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

Sources