Direct Proof Of Use
The 2K22 Tunguska is directly documented in the conflict on both sides. For Ukraine, Defence24 reported in October 2022 that Ukrainian Tunguska systems were part of active air defense against Russian missiles and drones, and embedded footage described as a Ukrainian 2S6 combat vehicle firing a 9M311-series missile.
For Russia, Oryx's visually confirmed equipment-loss list records Russian 2K22M1 Tunguska systems destroyed, damaged, abandoned, and captured during the full-scale invasion. Later reporting by Defense Express and UNITED24 Media described a December 2025 Ukrainian drone attack that destroyed a Russian 2S6 Tunguska, adding a dated incident to the wider loss record.
Sources: Defence24 Ukrainian Tunguska In Action, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Defense Express Russian 2S6 Knocked Out, UNITED24 Russian Tunguska Destroyed
Timeline
The strongest dated public evidence begins after Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion, when battlefield imagery and video made individual air-defense vehicles easier to identify. Oryx's running visual list records the Russian 2K22M1 loss pattern, while Defence24's October 2022 article documents Ukrainian use with a missile firing visible in shared footage.
The later record shows both attrition and sustainment. Defense Express and UNITED24 Media reported the December 2025 destruction of a Russian 2S6 Tunguska by Ukrainian drone-delivered munitions, and The Guardian reported in March 2026 that a UK-supported repair facility inside Ukraine was also fixing Tunguska vehicles used by Ukraine.
Sources: Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Defence24 Ukrainian Tunguska In Action, Defense Express Russian 2S6 Knocked Out, UNITED24 Russian Tunguska Destroyed, Guardian Ukraine Repair Facility
Operational Role
In this conflict, the Tunguska's documented role is short-range air defense and force protection. Ukrainian use is described around defense against missiles and drones, with the October 2022 footage showing the missile armament rather than only the gun system. Defence24 also placed Ukrainian Tunguskas alongside Shilka and Gepard gun-based air-defense systems in Ukraine's short-range air-defense layer.
Russian systems appear in the record mainly as battlefield air-defense vehicles protecting maneuver units and nearby equipment. Defense Express described the December 2025 loss as degrading Russian short-range air-defense coverage, and UNITED24 Media reported that the vehicle was destroyed on the left bank of the Kherson region after drone-delivered munitions struck the vehicle and turret area.
Sources: Defence24 Ukrainian Tunguska In Action, Defense Express Russian 2S6 Knocked Out, UNITED24 Russian Tunguska Destroyed
Sustainment And Availability
The available sources separate possession, use, loss, and sustainment. Defence24 said Ukraine was reported to have had 75 2K22 Tunguska systems before the full-scale invasion and directly documented a Ukrainian vehicle in use in 2022. Oryx documents Russian combat losses but does not, by itself, prove every listed vehicle's exact mission at the time it was lost.
The Guardian's 2026 reporting adds a sustainment marker: British and Ukrainian engineers at an in-country repair site were fixing Tunguska vehicles used by Ukraine, with engineers using museum examples in Britain to work out spare-part manufacture for Soviet-era platforms. That supports continued Ukrainian operation and maintenance context without establishing a specific firing incident.
Sources: Defence24 Ukrainian Tunguska In Action, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Guardian Ukraine Repair Facility
