Direct proof of use
The Kozak-2 appears in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War record as a Ukrainian protected mobility vehicle. In May 2019, an OSCE Special Monitoring Mission UAV recorded two Kozak-2 armored personnel carriers near government-controlled Zaitseve in Donetsk region, placing the type inside the Donbas security-zone context before the 2022 full-scale invasion.
After Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion, Oryx's visually documented Ukrainian equipment-loss list recorded Kozak-2 and Kozak-2M1 losses. That evidence supports battlefield exposure of the vehicle family in the full-scale phase, while Ukrainian and defense-industry reporting documents continuing deliveries and handovers to Ukrainian units.
Sources: OSCE SMM 22 May 2019 report, Oryx Ukrainian equipment losses
Fielding and deliveries
Kozak-2 fielding expanded during the conflict rather than appearing only as a pre-war inventory item. Practika and Ukrainian media reporting described more than forty Kozak-2 vehicles handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in December 2020 under a state defense order, and Army Recognition reported that more than 240 Kozak-2 vehicles were then in Ukrainian Armed Forces and law-enforcement service.
The later Kozak-2M1 variant also entered the war-era service record before the full-scale invasion. The Defense Post reported in December 2021 that the Ukrainian Army took delivery of 44 locally produced Kozak-2M1 armored vehicles, describing the vehicle as an MRAP for secure troop transport during military operations.
Sources: UNIAN 2020 Kozak-2 handover, Army Recognition 2020 Kozak-2 delivery, The Defense Post 2021 Kozak delivery
Full-scale invasion role
The public evidence supports a protected-transport and battlefield-mobility role for Ukrainian forces rather than a tank or infantry fighting vehicle role. Sources describe Kozak-2 vehicles as armored personnel carriers, special armored vehicles, or MRAP-class vehicles used to move troops under protection from small arms and mines.
In April 2024, ArmyInform reported that Ukraine's defense minister and the chief of the General Staff handed 15 Kozak-2M1 and 25 Kozak-5 armored vehicles to the 225th Separate Assault Battalion. Defense Express reported the same batch and described it as Ukrainian-made armored vehicles produced by Practika for fighters of that battalion.
Sources: OSCE SMM 22 May 2019 report, The Defense Post 2021 Kozak delivery, ArmyInform 2024 Kozak handover, Defense Express 2024 Kozak handover
