Direct proof of use
The RPG-22 appears in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War record as a disposable shoulder-fired anti-tank launcher documented on both sides of the conflict. DFRLab reported that Bulgarian-made RPG-22 systems had been received by Ukrainian forces and that the Ukrainian Security Service later published photographs from a separatist weapons cache near Berdyanske, Donetsk Oblast, which included a VMZ-produced RPG-22.
Later conflict evidence shows the launcher still tied to Ukrainian military use and Russian-linked activity. DVIDS documented Yavoriv Combat Training Center instructors teaching Ukrainian army soldiers from the 1st Airmobile Battalion, 79th Air Assault Brigade how to operate RPG-7 and RPG-22 launchers in May 2017. ARES documented an RPG-22 shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket launcher among weapons seized after Ukrainian authorities reported arresting an alleged saboteur in Odessa on 27 February 2022.
Sources: #MinskMonitor: Bulgarian Lethal Arms Exports to Ukraine, RPG qual at Yavoriv CTC BROLL, Weapons & Equipment Seized from Alleged Russian Saboteurs in Ukraine (2022)
Timeline
The public RPG-22 evidence spans the pre-2022 Donbas phase and the opening days of Russia's full-scale invasion. In 2015, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov publicized new Bulgarian-made lethal weapons being introduced to Ukrainian forces, including VMZ RPG-22 systems as reported by DFRLab. In December 2016, DFRLab reported that the Ukrainian Security Service identified a VMZ RPG-22 in a Russian-led separatist cache near Berdyanske.
On 4 May 2017, DVIDS filmed Ukrainian army training with RPG-22 launchers at Yavoriv. On 27 February 2022, ARES documented the RPG-22 in an Odessa seizure attributed by Ukrainian authorities to alleged Russian saboteurs.
Sources: #MinskMonitor: Bulgarian Lethal Arms Exports to Ukraine, RPG qual at Yavoriv CTC BROLL, Weapons & Equipment Seized from Alleged Russian Saboteurs in Ukraine (2022)
Narrative
In this conflict, the RPG-22 is best documented as a short-range anti-armor and assault launcher rather than a single campaign-shaping system. Its evidence record is made up of documented stocks, training, and seized materiel rather than a large set of confirmed firing incidents.
DFRLab's Donbas reporting separates transfer and possession: Ukrainian forces had received Bulgarian-made RPG-22 systems, while a VMZ RPG-22 was also photographed in a separatist cache in Donetsk Oblast. DVIDS then provides direct Ukrainian military training evidence at Yavoriv, showing the launcher in the hands of a named Ukrainian army unit. The ARES Odessa case adds a 2022 full-scale-invasion datapoint, but it supports seizure from alleged Russian saboteurs rather than a confirmed firing event.
Sources: #MinskMonitor: Bulgarian Lethal Arms Exports to Ukraine, RPG qual at Yavoriv CTC BROLL, Weapons & Equipment Seized from Alleged Russian Saboteurs in Ukraine (2022)
