Direct proof of use
NIN reported that a Ukrainian Ministry of Defense video published on 13 March 2022 showed Ukrainian Special Operations Forces firing numerous 60 mm mortar rounds at Russian-held positions on the edge of Moschun, near Kyiv. The same report said visible markings on several rounds read KV lot 05/2018, which NIN identified as a lot made by Krušik in Valjevo during 2018.
N1's regional coverage of the same episode described the video as showing Ukrainian soldiers firing mortar rounds at Russian positions around Kyiv and reported that NIN had identified the markings as Krušik-produced ammunition from 2018. N1 quoted NIN journalist Vuk Cvijić saying the factory and production-year markings were checked with knowledgeable sources.
Sources: NIN Serbian Mines on the Ukrainian Front, N1 Bosnia Krušik Mines in Ukraine
Supply and battlefield chronology
The documented Ukrainian M73 trail predates the 2022 full-scale invasion. NIN reported that Serbian 60 mm mortar mines from Krušik were sold into a chain involving Serbian intermediary Tehnoremont, Polish company Nattan, and Ukrainian state company Ukrinmash, with a 2016 shipment of 30,000 rounds and later documentation for another 23,500-round transaction in 2018.
In a September 2023 follow-up, NIN said newly obtained export and transit documents confirmed a 2018 export of 23,500 Krušik mortar mines and repeated that the Moschun video showed Ukrainian Special Operations Forces firing 60 mm Krušik rounds made in 2018. The same article reported a separate March 2022 use near Berdyansk from the 2016-exported batch, supported by photographs, but the Moschun footage remains the clearest named battlefield use in the open sources reviewed here.
Radar later summarized the public record similarly: Serbian 60 mm destructive mortar mines made by Krušik were identified in Donbas-related material before 2022, and on 13 March 2022 an official Ukrainian Ministry of Defense YouTube video titled "Battle for Kyiv. Moschun" showed Ukrainian Special Operations Forces firing 60 mm mortar mines from the 05/2018 series at Russian-held positions.
Sources: NIN Serbian Mines on the Ukrainian Front, NIN SNS Board Member Contract, Radar Serbian Arms to Ukraine
Role in the conflict
Within the sourced record, the M73 appears as light mortar ammunition for Ukrainian ground forces rather than as a separately fielded weapon system. Its documented role was short-range fire support: Ukrainian troops fired 60 mm rounds during the defense of Kyiv-axis positions around Moschun, while the earlier supply reporting explains how Krušik-made M73 ammunition was available to Ukrainian users.
Krušik lists the 60 mm M73 under high-explosive 60 mm mortar shells, and Yugoimport's M73 sheet identifies it as a 60 mm HE mortar shell with published ballistic data for firing from the 60 mm M57 mortar. Those manufacturer sources establish the catalog identity of the round; the Ukraine-specific use claim rests on the NIN, N1, and Radar reporting that ties marked Krušik 60 mm M73-series ammunition to Ukrainian wartime use.
Sources: Krušik 60 mm M73 Mortar Shell, Yugoimport 60 mm M73 HE Mortar Shell, NIN Serbian Mines on the Ukrainian Front, N1 Bosnia Krušik Mines in Ukraine, Radar Serbian Arms to Ukraine
