Direct proof of use
The clearest public RPG-29-specific report from the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War is a Censor.NET article from August 2016, which attributed photographs and field observations to journalist Roman Bochkala. The report said Russian-backed forces had shelled Ukrainian troops near Zaitseve and later also in the Avdiivka and Shyrokyne areas with RPG-29 launchers firing TBG-29V thermobaric rounds.
A separate Ukrainian-language overview of Donbas infantry weapons by Mykhailo Zhyrokhov, published by ChEline in July 2016, listed RPG-29 Vampir use among the rocket-propelled anti-tank weapons observed with separatist forces in Donbas.
Sources: Censor.NET RPG-29 Donbas Report, ChEline Donbas Infantry Weapons
Timeline
By July 2016, Zhyrokhov described the RPG-29 as one of the RPG types observed in Donbas alongside RPG-7, RPG-18, RPG-22, RPG-26, and RPG-27 weapons.
On 12 August 2016, Censor.NET reported RPG-29/TBG-29V remnants tied to shelling near Zaitseve and said similar attacks had also been recorded around Avdiivka and Shyrokyne.
Sources: Censor.NET RPG-29 Donbas Report, ChEline Donbas Infantry Weapons
Narrative
In Donbas, the RPG-29 appears in the public record as part of the wider short-range anti-armor and infantry-support weapons mix used by Russian-backed armed formations. ARES documented the broader 2014 eastern Ukraine environment of portable anti-tank systems, including RPG-7, RPG-18, RPG-22, RPG-26, MRO-A, RPO-A, SPG-9, and anti-tank guided weapons in pro-Russian separatist service, but that report does not identify RPG-29 by name.
The RPG-29-specific evidence is therefore narrower than the evidence for more common launchers in the conflict. The available direct sources support reported possession and use by Russian-backed forces, including thermobaric TBG-29V remnants from 2016 shelling, but they do not establish a comprehensive issue scale or a confirmed first battlefield appearance.
Sources: ARES Raising Red Flags, Censor.NET RPG-29 Donbas Report, ChEline Donbas Infantry Weapons
