Direct proof of use
The M113 is documented in Ukrainian service through official security-assistance records, donor transfer announcements, battlefield medical-evacuation reporting, and open-source visual loss documentation. The U.S. Department of Defense first listed 200 M113 armored personnel carriers in an April 13, 2022 drawdown package for Ukraine, and a January 2025 U.S. fact sheet listed more than 900 M113 armored personnel carriers committed under ground-maneuver assistance.
Operational use is supported separately from transfer records. Ukrinform, citing Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, reported on February 22, 2024 that Ukraine's defense forces had received M113 armored personnel carriers equipped to evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield and were handing them to combat units. Oryx's Ukrainian equipment-loss tracker lists U.S.-supplied M113s, Australian M113AS4s, and Danish M113G3DK/G4DKs among photo- or video-documented Ukrainian armored-vehicle losses in the full-scale invasion.
Sources: DoD April 2022 Security Assistance, DoD January 2025 Ukraine Fact Sheet, Ukrinform M113 Evacuation Vehicles, Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses
Timeline
The first major public U.S. M113 commitment came on April 13, 2022, when the Department of Defense announced 200 M113 armored personnel carriers for Ukraine as Russian forces shifted their main effort toward eastern Ukraine. A Defense Department news story published the same day described the carriers as part of the package intended to move Ukrainian troops around the battlefield.
Australia followed with M113AS4s in June 2022. Its defense ministry said the first four vehicles had departed RAAF Base Amberley and were the first of 14 M113AS4s to be provided to Ukraine, describing the AS4 as a protected mobility vehicle designed to transport infantry soldiers on the battlefield. By January 2025, the United States listed more than 900 M113s committed to Ukraine.
Sources: DoD April 2022 Security Assistance, DoD Howitzers Helicopters Humvees, Australia First M113AS4 Departure, DoD January 2025 Ukraine Fact Sheet
Operational role
In Ukrainian service, the M113's documented role is protected mobility rather than heavy assault. The official U.S. article framed the April 2022 M113 package as battlefield troop movement, while the Australian release emphasized protected infantry transport. The February 2024 Ukrainian reporting identifies a medical-evacuation role, with tracked mobility valued for off-road conditions and vehicles being transferred to combat units.
The loss record shows that the type was exposed to combat-zone attrition after delivery. Oryx lists Ukrainian M113-family losses by donor variant, including U.S.-supplied M113s, Australian M113AS4s, and Danish M113G3DK/G4DKs; those entries support fielding and attrition but should not be read as a complete count of Ukrainian inventory or all tactical employment.
Sources: DoD Howitzers Helicopters Humvees, Australia First M113AS4 Departure, Ukrinform M113 Evacuation Vehicles, Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses
