Direct proof of use
The clearest public evidence for 3OF36 use in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War is an April 2022 Ukraine Weapons Tracker identification republished by Defence24. The report described two 3OF36 120 mm high-explosive mortar bombs and one 53-OF-843B 120 mm mortar bomb wired together for use as a daisy-chain improvised explosive device in Ukrainian special-forces hands.
Defence24's article placed the image in Ukraine-war coverage and described the device as an improvised explosive charge made from three 120 mm mortar bombs. The sourced evidence supports Ukrainian improvised explosive-device use; it does not independently establish mortar-fired use of 3OF36 rounds in the conflict.
Sources: Defence24 Ukrainian IED Mortar Bombs
Timeline
On 11 April 2022, Ukraine Weapons Tracker posted the identification of the three-bomb IED configuration. Defence24 republished and discussed the item on 16 April 2022, crediting Ukraine Weapons Tracker for the image and identification.
A separate Open Source Munitions Portal record lists an OF-36 120 mm unguided mortar projectile in Ukraine from 2017. That record supports the presence of an OF-36/3OF36-family munition in the broader conflict environment, but it is not used here as proof of a specific side's operational use.
Sources: Defence24 Ukrainian IED Mortar Bombs, OSMP 265 OF-36 Ukraine
Narrative
The documented battlefield role is not conventional mortar fire. In the April 2022 item, the 3OF36 bombs appeared as explosive components in an improvised device intended for use against Russian forces, alongside a 53-OF-843B mortar bomb. The parent weapon record therefore classifies the conflict role as area denial and asymmetric advantage rather than as ordinary indirect fire.
Technical references identify the 3OF36 as a Soviet/Russian 120 mm high-explosive fragmentation mortar bomb, normally associated with Soviet-family 120 mm mortar ammunition. METIS describes the 3OF36/OF36 identity and Soviet/Russian manufacture context; that background explains the munition type but does not by itself prove Ukraine-war use.
Sources: Defence24 Ukrainian IED Mortar Bombs, METIS 3OF36 Mortar Bomb
