Direct proof of use
The MT-LB with a 14.5 mm 2M-7 naval gun mount is directly documented in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through a captured Russian vehicle. Oryx lists one Russian MT-LB with a 14.5 mm 2M-7 naval gun mount as captured in its visually documented Russian equipment-loss record for the invasion of Ukraine.
The Armourers Bench identifies the same type of vehicle in February 2023 reporting from near Vuhledar: Ukrainian troops shared video of a captured Russian MT-LB fitted with a 2M-7 naval turret carrying two 14.5 mm KPV heavy machine guns.
Sources: Oryx Russian Equipment Losses In Ukraine, The Armourers Bench Adapted MT-LBs
Timeline
The public conflict record for this conversion centers on February 2023. The documented sequence is Russian fielding, Ukrainian capture near Vuhledar, and later inclusion in visually documented Russian equipment-loss lists.
The sources support at least one captured example. They do not establish a standardized production program, a large fleet, or confirmed Ukrainian operational reuse of the captured vehicle.
Sources: Oryx Russian Equipment Losses In Ukraine, The Armourers Bench Adapted MT-LBs
Battlefield role
The vehicle belongs to the wider wartime pattern of adapting MT-LB tracked carriers with heavier or more specialized weapons. The Armourers Bench describes multiple Russian and Ukrainian ad-hoc MT-LB weapon mounts in Ukraine and places the 2M-7 example among up-gunned MT-LBs used as improvised platforms.
The 2M-7 installation gave the lightly armored MT-LB a twin 14.5 mm KPV naval mount rather than its normal light machine-gun armament. Tank Encyclopedia describes the 2M-7 as a twin-barrel naval mount for the KPV heavy machine gun that was accepted into Soviet naval service in 1951, giving the land vehicle an improvised heavy automatic-fire and short-range air-defense character.
Sources: The Armourers Bench Adapted MT-LBs, Tank Encyclopedia KPV
