Direct proof of use
Ukraine fielded Harpoon anti-ship missiles in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War after the full-scale Russian invasion widened the Black Sea fight in 2022. USNI News reported on 10 June 2022 that Ukrainian forces had deployed Harpoons to the Black Sea for use against Russian surface ships, citing Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov's statement that Harpoon complexes had strengthened Ukraine's coastal defense.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on 15 June 2022 that a $1 billion security-assistance package for Ukraine included two Harpoon coastal defense systems under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. A related Defense Department briefing described the item as a vehicle-mounted Harpoon intended to bolster Ukraine's coastal defense systems.
On 1 July 2022, a senior U.S. defense official said Ukrainian pressure on Russian forces around Snake Island included using recently acquired Harpoon missiles to attack a resupply ship. Defense News later reported comments by Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante that partner-supplied, ship-based Harpoons had been removed from ships, adapted to fire from flatbed trucks, and used by Ukrainian forces in June 2022.
Sources: USNI Ukraine Deploys Harpoons, DOD Harpoon Systems to Ukraine, DOD Harpoon Briefing, DOD Snake Island Retreat, Defense News LaPlante Harpoons
Black Sea deployment
Harpoon entered Ukrainian service as a shore-based maritime-strike and coastal-defense capability rather than as a shipboard Ukrainian Navy weapon. USNI News reported that Denmark provided U.S.-built Harpoon missiles to Kyiv and that the new coastal-defense battery joined Ukraine's domestically produced Neptune anti-ship missiles.
The operational setting was the northwestern Black Sea, where Russian surface ships, the blockade pressure on Odesa, mines, and the fight over Snake Island shaped Ukraine's need for coastal anti-ship fires. USNI News reported in May 2022 that Ukraine had requested Harpoons to help counter the blockade of Odesa and Russian naval harassment, and in June reported that the deployed missiles were intended as a counter to Russian surface ships in the region.
Sources: USNI Denmark Harpoons, USNI Ukraine Deploys Harpoons
Snake Island and truck launch
The clearest publicly documented combat-use episode is the June 2022 Snake Island resupply context. The Ukrainian Navy claimed on 17 June that it struck the Russian rescue vessel Vasily Bekh near Snake Island with Harpoon anti-ship missiles while the vessel was reportedly carrying personnel, weapons, and ammunition; The War Zone treated the initial report as a Ukrainian claim and noted that released drone footage appeared to show two missile impacts.
U.S. official comments later tied Ukrainian Harpoon use to the pressure that led Russian forces to leave Snake Island. The Defense Department said on 1 July 2022 that Ukrainian forces used recently acquired Harpoons to attack a resupply ship, making Russian sustainment on the island difficult. Defense News reported in September 2022 that LaPlante described an improvised partner-assisted conversion in which ship-based Harpoons were mounted on flatbed trucks before Ukrainian use in June.
Sources: TWZ Vasily Bekh Claim, DOD Snake Island Retreat, Defense News LaPlante Harpoons
