Direct proof of use
The RKhM Kashalot appears in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War record as a Ukrainian CBRN reconnaissance vehicle rather than as a direct-fire armored fighting vehicle. Oryx lists seven Ukrainian RKhM Kashalot vehicles among visually documented full-scale invasion losses, including destroyed, damaged, captured, and damaged-captured examples.
Defense Express reported on 16 September 2023 that the press service of Ukraine's 3rd Tank Brigade had published photos from the brigade's radiological, chemical, and biological protection units during the first 1.5 years of Russia's full-scale invasion. The report said one photo showed the transport and unloading of at least two MT-LB-based RKhM Kashalot special-purpose vehicles.
Ukrainian Support Forces imagery also places the vehicle in wartime Ukrainian service. Wikimedia Commons hosts a 6 July 2022 image, sourced to the Support Forces of Ukraine Command, described as Ukrainian Support Forces training with an RKhM Kashalot vehicle.
Sources: Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses, Defense Express RKhM Kashalot 3rd Tank Brigade, Commons UA Support Forces RKhM 02
Timeline
The public evidence used here is clearest during the full-scale phase that began on 24 February 2022. Oryx's running loss list later recorded Ukrainian RKhM Kashalot vehicles in several loss categories, establishing that the vehicles were present in the war zone and subject to battlefield loss or capture.
On 6 July 2022, Ukrainian Support Forces training imagery showed an RKhM Kashalot vehicle in Ukrainian service. On 16 September 2023, Defense Express reported 3rd Tank Brigade imagery showing at least two RKhM Kashalot vehicles associated with the brigade's RCBZ units during the first 1.5 years of the full-scale invasion.
Sources: Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses, Commons UA Support Forces RKhM 02, Defense Express RKhM Kashalot 3rd Tank Brigade
Battlefield role
The Kashalot's role in the conflict follows its specialized design. Army Guide identifies the RKhM Kashalot as a nuclear, biological, and chemical reconnaissance vehicle made by JSC Tula Plant, with a crew of three and a 7.62 mm main weapon rather than heavy armament.
Defense Express described the vehicles shown by the 3rd Tank Brigade as special-purpose MT-LB-based vehicles for reconnaissance of radiological and chemical conditions. The same article noted that the passenger compartment held RCBZ equipment and that the vehicle's only armament was a 7.62 mm PKT machine gun, making conversion into an infantry-support fighting vehicle difficult.
The available sources support Ukrainian possession, training, brigade-level imagery, and battlefield loss or capture. They do not identify a specific CBRN reconnaissance mission, contamination survey, or named combat action performed by an individual RKhM Kashalot.
Sources: Army Guide RKhM Kashalot, Defense Express RKhM Kashalot 3rd Tank Brigade, Oryx Ukrainian Equipment Losses
