Direct proof of use
Novator is documented in Ukrainian service during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through manufacturer statements, Ukrainian defense-industry reporting, and battlefield-unit reporting. Ukrainian Armor says the baseline Novator has been supplied to Ukraine's Defense Forces since 2018, while the Novator-2 was developed during the war using feedback from combat use of the earlier vehicle.
The clearest direct-use evidence comes from 2024 reporting on Novator-2 deliveries. Ukrainian Armor announced the first batch of Novator-2 armored personnel carriers for Ukraine's National Guard on July 1, 2024, and said the vehicles were built around a front-line request for a combat-group carrier. Later that month, Ukrainian Armor said Novator-2 vehicles fitted with KVERTUS AD KRAKEN Counter FPV F3 M50 electronic-warfare equipment had already begun combat missions on the front line.
Sources: Ukrainian Armor First Novator-2 Delivery, Defense Express First Novator-2 Delivery, Ukrainian Armor Novator-2 KRAKEN Test
Timeline
Open reporting places the Novator family in Ukrainian Defense Forces service from 2018, then shows a wartime Novator-2 branch entering National Guard delivery in mid-2024. Defense Express described the first National Guard batch on July 1, 2024, including electronic-warfare equipment and a plan to equip each National Guard combat brigade with the type.
Ukrainian Armor's July 30, 2024 KRAKEN integration note changed the record from delivery to front-line employment: the company said the first EW-equipped Novator-2 vehicles were already carrying out combat missions. Subsequent reporting documented further National Guard deliveries, Ukrainian Armor statements that Novator and Varta vehicles were being used in the Kursk-region operation, and Azov/National Guard use of Novator-2 vehicles on the front line.
Sources: Defense Express First Novator-2 Delivery, Ukrainian Armor Novator-2 KRAKEN Test, Defense Express Novator-2 EW Batch, Ukrainian Armor Kursk Operation Novator, The Defense Post Azov Novator-2 Use
Operational role
The Novator's conflict role is protected mobility rather than heavy direct fire. Ukrainian and defense-industry sources describe it as a light armored personnel carrier or infantry mobility vehicle used to move troops, protect crews from small-arms and battlefield hazards, and keep units mobile under artillery, mine, and FPV-drone threat.
The Novator-2 branch reflects the war's changing vehicle requirements. Ukrainian Armor and Defense Express describe the National Guard variant as a larger combat-group carrier, while Kvertus and Ukrainian Armor tie the EW-equipped version to crew protection against FPV drones during combat missions. The Defense Post, citing an Azov unit update, reported that the 12th Special Operations Brigade Azov was using Novator-2 vehicles on the front line to move personnel out of firefights and drone-strike danger.
Sources: Ukrainian Armor First Novator-2 Delivery, Kvertus Ukrainian Armor Cooperation, Defense Express Novator-2 EW Batch, The Defense Post Azov Novator-2 Use
Scale and variants
By September 2025, UNITED24 Media reported, citing Ukrainian Armor's press service, that more than 1,000 Novator armored vehicles had been delivered to Ukraine's Armed Forces since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. The same report described the wartime expansion of the Novator line into Novator-2, Novator-2S medical evacuation, command-and-staff, EOD, and reinforced-protection variants.
Those variant reports show how the Novator family moved from a protected personnel carrier into a broader Ukrainian battlefield platform. For the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War record, the directly supported uses are Ukrainian fielding, troop movement, front-line National Guard service, EW-equipped crew protection, and documented employment by Azov/National Guard personnel.
Sources: UNITED24 Novator 1000 Vehicle Milestone, The Defense Post Azov Novator-2 Use
