Direct proof of use
Armament Research Services reported on 20 November 2014 that the 9M51 fuel-air explosive rocket had been employed in eastern Ukraine. The same article identified the rocket as a 220 mm munition launched from the 9K57 Uragan multiple launch rocket system and stated that it delivers the 30.2 kg 9N515 fuel-air explosive warhead.
The ARES article also tied the weapon to physical battlefield documentation by captioning a 9N515 warhead from a 9M51 rocket as documented at Makiivka in eastern Ukraine. Its operator attribution was narrower than the general Uragan-family record: ARES wrote that reports suggested Ukrainian government forces employed 9M51 rockets against pro-Russian separatist forces in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Makiivka.
Sources: Soviet and Russian flame weapons in Ukraine
Timeline
ARES released its broader Research Report No. 3 on the Ukraine conflict on 18 November 2014, describing a months-long review of weapons, munitions, armored vehicles, and aircraft documented in the fighting. Two days later, ARES published a focused flame-weapons article that named the 9M51 among incendiary, thermobaric, and fuel-air explosive systems observed or reported in eastern Ukraine.
Sources: ARES Research Report No. 3, Soviet and Russian flame weapons in Ukraine
Role in the fighting
In this conflict record, the 9M51 is best treated as a specific Uragan-family munition rather than as a launcher entry. Missilery identifies the 9M51 as a 220 mm unguided rocket for the 9K57 Uragan system with a listed 5-13 km range, 256 kg projectile mass, and 9N515 fuel-air explosive warhead. ARES separately described the 9M51 as designed for infantry and light vehicles, especially in confined spaces, and reported its 2014 use against separatist forces.
The documented locations in the available source record are eastern Ukrainian urban and regional names rather than a full strike-by-strike log. Makiivka is supported by the photographed 9N515 warhead caption, while Donetsk and Luhansk appear in the ARES operator-and-targeting summary as reported areas of Ukrainian government employment.
Sources: Unguided rocket projectile 9M51, Soviet and Russian flame weapons in Ukraine
