Direct proof of use
The clearest documented KPV-family use in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War is Ukrainian operation of MR-2 Viktor mobile air-defense vehicles. Janes reported that the Excalibur Army MR-2 Viktor was being supplied to Ukraine, that initial batches had been delivered in late 2022, and that the Toyota Hilux-based vehicle was armed with ZPU-2 twin KPVT 14.5 mm machine guns for use against unmanned aerial systems.
Ukrainian and defense-media reporting then documented the weapons in service. Defense Express cited Ukraine's Joint Forces Command and Lieutenant General Serhiy Naiev in June 2023, reporting that Ukrainian mobile fire groups had begun receiving Czech-made Viktor installations, that the first examples were already on combat duty in the northern operational zone, and that their main task was fighting UAVs and low-altitude aircraft. ArmyInform, a Ukrainian Ministry of Defence information outlet, later described a Ukrainian Armed Forces unit armed with MR-2 Viktor systems and identified the mobile complex as a pair of KPVT machine guns firing 14.5x114 mm ammunition from a Toyota pickup platform.
A separate improvised-vehicle example appeared in June 2022. The War Zone reported that Ukrainian forces had mounted a remote-controlled KPVT 14.5 mm heavy machine gun on a Soviet-era GAZ-24-10 Volga sedan, describing it as a compact technical built for Ukrainian forces during the full-scale invasion.
Sources: Janes MR-2 Viktor Supplied to Ukraine, Defense Express MR-2 Viktor Training, ArmyInform MR-2 Viktor, TWZ KPVT Volga Technical
Timeline
By the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Janes, Excalibur Army had delivered initial MR-2 Viktor batches to Ukraine and larger deliveries were planned. The Viktor supply path combined Czech production, Czech citizen-funded vehicles through the Gift for Putin campaign, and Dutch-financed vehicles.
On June 12, 2023, Defense Express reported Ukrainian training and combat-duty use of the Czech-made Viktor systems in the northern operational zone. Two days later, Forces News reported that Ukraine had received 15 Viktor guns and that the weapon had entered operational service for countering Shahed-type one-way attack drones.
On November 3, 2023, ArmyInform published a Ukrainian-language overview of the MR-2 Viktor in Ukrainian service, tying the system to Ukrainian air-defense units, the Gift for Putin fundraising campaign, and General Staff imagery of Armed Forces units equipped with the complex.
Sources: Janes MR-2 Viktor Supplied to Ukraine, Defense Express MR-2 Viktor Training, Forces News Viktor Operational Service, ArmyInform MR-2 Viktor, Gift for Putin Viktor Campaign
Battlefield role
In Ukrainian service, the best-documented KPV role is short-range air defense rather than infantry carriage of the original KPV gun. The MR-2 Viktor packages paired KPVT guns in a modernized ZPU-2-style installation on a pickup chassis, giving mobile fire groups a comparatively low-cost weapon for low-altitude targets. The cited Ukrainian commander described UAVs as the main target set, with aircraft, helicopters, light armor, field fortifications, and infantry also within the paired 14.5 mm gun's supported direct-fire role.
The same evidence separates supply, deployment, and use. Janes and Gift for Putin support the transfer and funding path; Defense Express, Forces News, and ArmyInform support Ukrainian operation, combat-duty status, and intended counter-UAV employment; The War Zone supports a distinct improvised KPVT vehicle mount by Ukrainian forces. None of these sources establishes a complete inventory of every KPV-family gun in Ukrainian service.
The conflict-use record therefore treats the KPV family as appearing through vehicle and anti-aircraft mounts: KPVT guns on MR-2 Viktor systems for mobile air defense, and at least one reported improvised KPVT technical for direct-fire support.
Sources: Janes MR-2 Viktor Supplied to Ukraine, Defense Express MR-2 Viktor Training, Forces News Viktor Operational Service, ArmyInform MR-2 Viktor, Gift for Putin Viktor Campaign, TWZ KPVT Volga Technical
