The ML-20 is documented in the war through an October 2025 Donetsk-region counter-battery incident in which Ukrainian artillery reportedly destroyed a Russian Soviet-era gun-howitzer.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| A Russian ML-20 was documented in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War and destroyed in Donetsk region. | Sources: Defense Express ML-20 Donetsk |
| The cited incident was described as Ukrainian counter-battery action by the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade. | Sources: Defense Express ML-20 Donetsk |
| The public source supports one documented incident, not a fleet count or first-use date for Russian ML-20s in the war. | Sources: Defense Express ML-20 Donetsk |
Timeline
Defense Express reported that Ukrainian gunners from the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade destroyed a Russian ML-20 during counter-battery operations in Donetsk region.
Sources: Defense Express ML-20 Donetsk
The 152 mm ML-20 appears in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War as a Russian legacy towed artillery piece documented during the full-scale phase of the conflict. Defense Express reported on October 9, 2025 that Ukrainian gunners from the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade destroyed a Russian ML-20 during counter-battery operations in Donetsk region.
The report identified the weapon as the Soviet 152 mm gun-howitzer model 1937 and described its battlefield appearance as a sign that Russian forces were drawing on very old artillery stocks to maintain firepower.
Sources: Defense Express ML-20 Donetsk
On October 9, 2025, Defense Express published footage-based reporting that placed the destroyed ML-20 in Donetsk region and attributed the strike to Ukraine's 55th Separate Artillery Brigade. The public source does not establish when the gun first entered Russian use in the war or how many ML-20s were fielded.
Sources: Defense Express ML-20 Donetsk
The documented role was conventional tube-artillery fire support rather than a new production or transfer program. The ML-20 was a pre-Second World War Soviet heavy gun-howitzer, and its appearance in Russian service in 2025 fits the broader pattern of reserve and legacy artillery being pulled into the war.
The Donetsk-region incident is also a counter-battery record. Defense Express described Ukrainian units combining reconnaissance and fire correction to locate and destroy Russian artillery, making the ML-20's loss evidence of both Russian use and Ukrainian efforts to reduce Russian artillery firepower.
Sources: Defense Express ML-20 Donetsk
