Direct proof of use
Swedish government records first tied Archer to Ukraine in January 2023, when Sweden instructed its armed forces to prepare the transfer of non-assigned Archer B artillery units, support equipment, ammunition, and training assessment for Ukraine. A June 2023 Swedish support decision then described the Archer Artillery System among advanced equipment systems that had been donated to Ukraine and required longer-term supply support.
Direct battlefield documentation followed in late 2023 and early 2024. Reuters published imagery of a Swedish-made Archer of Ukraine's 45th Separate Artillery Brigade firing at Russian positions in Donetsk region on December 16, 2023, and Getty Images published video of Ukrainian soldiers firing an Archer at a Russian position in Donetsk Oblast on January 30, 2024. Defense Express also reported January 2024 Ukrainian Ground Forces imagery of Archer systems in Donetsk region and identified the systems with the 45th Separate Artillery Brigade.
Sources: Heavy advanced weapons to Ukraine, Twelfth support package to Ukraine, Reuters Archer Donetsk image, Getty Archer Donetsk footage, Defense Express Archer Donetsk photos
Narrative
In Ukrainian service, Archer appears in the record as a small fleet of Swedish 155 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzers used by artillery units rather than as a one-off transfer. The strongest official Swedish evidence documents the donation path, the support system established for donated Archer equipment, later procurement of additional Archer units, and barrel replacement for eight Ukrainian Archers that Sweden said had been in active use for a long time.
Open battlefield reporting places Archer in Ukrainian artillery fire missions in Donetsk and Luhansk contexts. Reuters identified a 45th Separate Artillery Brigade Archer firing at Russian positions in Donetsk region in December 2023; Getty separately documented Ukrainian soldiers firing an Archer at a Russian position in Donetsk Oblast in January 2024. Defense Express and Euromaidan Press reported further Ukrainian use, including 45th Brigade employment in Donetsk region and a May 2024 report that a Swedish-supplied Archer was used against a Russian 2S19 Msta-S in Luhansk Oblast.
Sweden's later procurement and sustainment decisions show that Archer support became part of a continuing artillery-assistance track. In March 2025 Sweden authorised procurement of 18 more Archer artillery units for Ukraine, in July 2025 it authorised more than 10 replacement barrels for previously donated Archer systems after intensive artillery use, and in September 2025 it announced another package including 18 Archer units with artillery ammunition.
Sources: Reuters Archer Donetsk image, Getty Archer Donetsk footage, Defense Express Archer Donetsk photos, Defense Express Archer combat operations, Euromaidan Press Archer Luhansk report, New Swedish artillery support, New Archer barrels for Ukraine, September 2025 Swedish support package
