Direct proof of use
ArmyInform's 2020 profile of the 1st Separate Tank Siver Brigade states that the brigade was re-equipped with T-64BM Bulat tanks before the war and that its 1st and 3rd tank battalions used Bulats. The same account says the brigade was moved to Luhansk Oblast in July 2014, fought around Luhansk airport, and was later sent to the Donetsk airport area in autumn 2014 and Debaltseve in winter 2015.
A 2017 Ukrainian Military Pages report, citing Ukroboronprom, said Malyshev Plant returned 50 repaired BM Bulat tanks to the Ukrainian army after the vehicles had taken part in fighting in eastern Ukraine. The report specifically links Bulats to the defense of Luhansk airport and to holding against an advance on the Mariupol axis.
Sources: ArmyInform 1st Tank Brigade Bulat Service, Ukrainian Military Pages Bulat Repairs
Timeline
Before the war, the Bulat was concentrated in Ukraine's 1st Tank Brigade, a unit ArmyInform describes as having two Bulat-equipped battalions and 82 Bulats out of 125 tanks. In July 2014, the brigade deployed to Luhansk Oblast, where its combat debut came during fighting to break the ring around Luhansk airport and create a transport corridor.
After Luhansk, the brigade's Bulat-equipped force was reported in later Donbas sectors. ArmyInform places the brigade in the Donetsk airport area during autumn 2014 and at Debaltseve during winter 2015. In May 2017, reporting on Malyshev repairs showed that many Bulats had returned from those eastern-Ukraine combat tasks and were being restored for continued Ukrainian service.
Sources: ArmyInform 1st Tank Brigade Bulat Service, Ukrainian Military Pages Bulat Repairs, Novynarnia Bulat Repairs
Narrative
In this conflict, the BM Bulat appears as a Ukrainian front-line main battle tank rather than a transfer item. The evidence ties it to Ukrainian armored units, especially the 1st Tank Brigade, and to battlefield roles typical of a tank force: assault, defensive holding, and fire support around contested airport, urban-edge, and maneuver corridors.
The available sources do not give a complete vehicle-by-vehicle operational history, but they do establish that Bulats were not merely in Ukrainian inventory. They were deployed to Donbas fighting in 2014 and 2015, suffered enough combat wear or damage to require factory-level restoration, and continued to appear in Ukrainian front-line service after the full-scale Russian invasion widened the same war in 2022.
A 2026 Mezha report summarizing Army TV footage showed a Bulat of the 1st Separate Heavy Mechanized Siver Brigade being used for combat missions at the front. The crew discussion centered on the tank's Nozh explosive reactive armor, improved sights, Oplot-derived transmission features on the shown vehicle, and additional anti-drone protection added for current battlefield conditions.
Sources: ArmyInform 1st Tank Brigade Bulat Service, Ukrainian Military Pages Bulat Repairs, Mezha Army TV Bulat Front Report
