Direct proof of use
The 2S17-2 Nona-SV is documented in Ukrainian service during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through battlefield reporting, visual-loss documentation, and image provenance tied to a Ukrainian Nona crew report. Defense Express reported on March 10, 2023 that the 2S17-2 Nona-SV had been put into production and applied on the battlefield, describing it as a 120 mm Nona system moved from the original BTR-D landing-vehicle chassis to a BMP-1 or BRM-1K-type chassis.
Oryx separately lists visually confirmed Ukrainian losses under the exact description "120mm BRM-1K with 2S9 Nona turret." Popular Mechanics connects that same conversion to the 2S17-2 Nona-SV designation and states that Ukraine had confirmed losses of two 2S17 vehicles after Russia's full-scale invasion.
Sources: Defense Express Nona-SV production report, Oryx Ukrainian equipment losses, Popular Mechanics Nona and Vena context
Timeline
The first sourced milestone for this usage record is the Ukrainian wartime revival of the old Soviet Nona-SV idea, reported before the March 2023 battlefield-production coverage. Defence24 described the vehicle as an unusual Ukrainian construction combining a BMP-1 or BRM-1-family hull with a Nona turret system and reported that Ukrainians had created at least four such self-propelled mortars.
On March 10, 2023, Defense Express reported that open-source video showed four to five 2S17-2 vehicles together, a sign that the type had moved beyond a single prototype. On May 3, 2023, ArmyInform published a report on Ukrainian Nona crews in Donetsk Oblast; Wikimedia Commons identifies images from that ArmyInform set as Ukrainian 2S17-2 Nona-SV vehicles on BMP-1, BRM-1K, or PRP-3-family chassis.
Sources: Defence24 Nona-SV revived in Ukraine, Defense Express Nona-SV production report, ArmyInform Nona crew report, File:UA 2S17-2 Nona-SV 03.jpg
Role in Ukrainian service
The documented role was mobile 120 mm mortar and gun-mortar fire support. ArmyInform's May 2023 report describes Ukrainian Nona crews in Donetsk Oblast firing 120 mm weapons in support of infantry, engaging lightly armored vehicles, cover, and enemy personnel, and relocating between firing positions to reduce counterbattery exposure.
For the 2S17-2 specifically, the operational value in the sources is the chassis substitution. Defense Express described the BMP-family or BRM-1K chassis as more available to Ukraine than the BTR-D airborne chassis used by the original 2S9 Nona, making the conversion a way to increase the number of self-propelled mortars in Ukrainian service.
Sources: ArmyInform Nona crew report, Defense Express Nona-SV production report
Identification limits
The sources do not establish a complete production total or a full unit-by-unit deployment history. Defense Express cautioned that side-view imagery can make the underlying BMP-1, BMP-2, or BRM-1K chassis difficult to separate after conversion work, especially when hull features are covered or welded over.
For that reason, this record treats the 2S17-2 Nona-SV as the documented Ukrainian BRM-1K/BMP-family Nona conversion rather than as a claim about every Ukrainian Nona-family vehicle. Generic 2S9 Nona service, captured 2S9 vehicles, and other Nona-family weapons are separate from this specific 2S17-2 usage claim unless a source identifies the converted chassis.
Sources: Defense Express Nona-SV production report, Oryx Ukrainian equipment losses, Popular Mechanics Nona and Vena context
