Direct proof of use
Documented NSV use in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War appears on both sides of the conflict. Defense Express reported on July 20, 2022 that a Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces unit in southern Zaporizhzhia region operated a pickup fitted with a large-caliber NSV Utyos machine gun for mobile fire support.
Russian use is documented later in the full-scale war. Ukrinform reported on December 4, 2025 that Ukraine's Phoenix border unit destroyed a Russian ground robotic system on the Toretsk front that was equipped with a 12.7 mm Soviet NSV Utes heavy machine gun.
Sources: Defense Express NSV Pickup, Ukrinform NSV Ground Robot
Timeline
On July 20, 2022, Defense Express described a Ukrainian Territorial Defense fire-support squad using a pickup-mounted NSV Utyos alongside a 60 mm mortar team. The article attributed the imagery to the 110th Zaporizhzhia Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces and described the gun's role as covering the squad during short attacks before the vehicle left the firing position.
On December 4, 2025, Ukrinform reported a Russian NSV-armed ground robotic system detected and destroyed by Ukrainian drone operators on the Toretsk front. The report attributed the statement and video release to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
Sources: Defense Express NSV Pickup, Ukrinform NSV Ground Robot
Battlefield role
The Ukrainian example places the NSV in an improvised mobile support role. Defense Express described the pickup-mounted gun as part of a small squad whose task was to support other units, with the heavy machine gun matching the short-range operating distance of the accompanying mortar team and providing cover during shoot-and-scoot attacks.
The Russian example shows the same weapon family adapted to an unmanned ground platform. Ukrinform's report did not identify the robot model, but it did identify the weapon as a 12.7 mm NSV Utes and placed the engagement on the Toretsk front, where the system was destroyed before reaching Ukrainian defensive positions.
The available sources support specific observed uses rather than a complete inventory. They document Ukrainian use of an NSV Utyos on a pickup in 2022 and Russian fielding of an NSV-armed ground robotic system in 2025; they do not establish how many NSV guns either side held or used across the wider war.
Sources: Defense Express NSV Pickup, Ukrinform NSV Ground Robot
