Direct proof of use
The 2B16 Nona-K is documented on both sides of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War. Oryx lists visually confirmed Russian 120 mm 2B16 Nona-K gun-mortar losses as destroyed, damaged, abandoned, damaged and captured, and captured, showing Russian fielding of the type in the full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian use is documented separately. Oryx lists Ukrainian 2B16 Nona-K losses, Defense Express reported a November 2023 92nd Assault Brigade video of a Ukrainian 2B16 Nona-K firing on Russian positions, and a January 2026 Defense Express article described the 80th Air Assault Brigade operating a 120 mm 2B16 Nona-K during the war.
Sources: Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses, Defense Express 92nd Brigade Nona-K, Defense Express 80th Brigade Nona-K
Captured Russian guns and Ukrainian service
The type entered Ukrainian use partly through captured Russian equipment. Defense Express reported in May 2022 that Ukrainian forces were testing a captured Russian 2B16 Nona-K and said at least seven had been captured in the first months of the full-scale invasion. Militarnyi likewise reported Ukrainian seizure of a Russian 2B16 Nona-K towed artillery system.
By November 2023, Defense Express reported that the 92nd Assault Brigade had released footage of a Nona-K in combat service. The article described its role as protecting Ukrainian positions from small Russian infantry groups and vehicles and engaging Russian forces during rotations.
Sources: Defense Express Trophy Nona-K Testing, Militarnyi Seized Russian Nona-K, Defense Express 92nd Brigade Nona-K
80th Air Assault Brigade employment
Defense Express reported in January 2026 that a 2B16 Nona-K operated by the 80th Air Assault Brigade had been preserved in storage, removed from a Lviv military academy display at the end of 2022, and transferred to an 80th Brigade unit at the beginning of 2023.
The same report said the gun was first used in the Bakhmut direction to help defend the city, later covered Ukrainian troops on the state border during the Kursk operation, and was used against infantry, shelters, mortar crews, and crew-served grenade-launcher positions. Defense Express also noted that its short range created survivability problems in a drone-heavy battlefield.
Sources: Defense Express 80th Brigade Nona-K
Role in the conflict
In this conflict the Nona-K appears as a scarce towed 120 mm fire-support system rather than a mass artillery piece. Russian use is best documented through loss and capture records, while Ukrainian use is documented through captured-equipment testing, visually confirmed Ukrainian losses, and brigade-level combat reporting.
The available public record supports fire-support, position-defense, and captured-equipment roles. It does not establish a complete inventory, deployment map, or all dates of first use; the most concrete evidence is the 2022 captured-equipment reporting, 2023 92nd Brigade combat footage reporting, 2026 80th Brigade account, and visually confirmed loss lists.
Sources: Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses, Defense Express Trophy Nona-K Testing, Defense Express 92nd Brigade Nona-K, Defense Express 80th Brigade Nona-K
