Direct proof of use
Direct evidence for BM-27 Uragan-family use begins in the Donbas phase of the war. Armament Research Services reported 220 mm 9M27K-series cargo-rocket components photographed at Sloviansk in July 2014 and assessed that 9M27K or 9M27K1 rockets had been employed from the 9K57 Uragan family. Human Rights Watch later summarized its eastern Ukraine investigations by identifying surface-fired 220 mm Uragan cluster munition rockets and 300 mm Smerch rockets, including Uragan cargo sections observed in Donetsk in October 2014.
Human Rights Watch's June 2015 technical briefing stated that both Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists had used cluster munitions in eastern Ukraine since mid-2014. The briefing named Uragan cluster munition rockets in several documented incidents, including Donetsk City, Ilovaisk, Komsomolske, Makiivka, and Starobesheve, while separating Uragan evidence from Smerch and other rocket types.
During the full-scale invasion phase, Uragan-family evidence broadened from munition remnants to launcher and support-vehicle losses. Oryx lists visually documented Russian BM-27 Uragan launchers and 9T452 transporter-loaders, and separately lists Ukrainian BM-27 Uragan launchers and 9T452 transporter-loaders, among photo- or video-confirmed equipment losses in Ukraine.
Sources: ARES 9M27K Series Ukraine, HRW Widespread Cluster Munitions, HRW Technical Briefing Note, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses
Timeline
The earliest cataloged evidence for this record is July 2014, when ARES published analysis of 9M27K-series Uragan cargo-rocket components in Ukraine. Human Rights Watch then documented surface-fired Uragan cluster munition rockets during its October 2014 field investigation and, in March and June 2015, described repeated Uragan cluster-rocket use by government and Russia-backed forces in eastern Ukraine.
After February 24, 2022, Russian forces used 9M27K-series Uragan cluster munition rockets in attacks documented by Human Rights Watch, including Okhtyrka on February 25 and Mykolaiv on March 7, 11, and 13. Human Rights Watch also documented apparent Ukrainian use of Uragan-series rockets to scatter PFM antipersonnel mines around Izium while Russian forces occupied the area in 2022.
Sources: ARES 9M27K Series Ukraine, HRW Widespread Cluster Munitions, HRW More Civilians Killed, HRW Technical Briefing Note, HRW Intense and Lasting Harm, HRW Mykolaiv Cluster Attacks, HRW Banned Landmines
Operational pattern
In this conflict, the BM-27 Uragan's documented role is heavy area fire rather than precision strike. The evidence record is strongest for 9M27-series rockets carrying fragmentation submunitions and for 9M27K3 mine-dispersal rockets, both of which use the Uragan launcher family and leave identifiable cargo sections, rocket motors, cassettes, or submunitions at impact sites.
Attribution varies by incident. HRW attributed repeated 2015 cluster-munition use to both Ukrainian government and Russia-backed rebel forces, while its 2022 report described extensive Russian cluster-munition use and at least one Ukrainian use of cluster munitions. The Izium mine-dispersal investigation attributed the apparent PFM rocket use to Ukrainian forces based on impact evidence, direction of fire, range, area control, and witness accounts; HRW also noted that Russian forces used other antipersonnel mines in Ukraine but had not verified Russian PFM use in the armed conflict.
The launcher-loss record shows that both sides retained Uragan-family launchers and support vehicles into the full-scale war. Oryx's Russian and Ukrainian loss lists are not strike logs, but their photo- and video-backed BM-27 and 9T452 entries support fielding by both militaries during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
Sources: HRW Technical Briefing Note, HRW Intense and Lasting Harm, HRW Banned Landmines, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses
