Direct proof of use
ArmyInform reported on October 17, 2022 that Ukrainian air-defense troops from a motorized infantry brigade named for Yakiv Handziuk were actively using S-60 anti-aircraft guns on the Kherson front. The report described crews moving rapidly to firing positions, calculating fire data with a tablet, and engaging Russian firing positions before displacing under drone threat.
The same ArmyInform account identified a Ukrainian field modification in which the 57 mm S-60 was mounted on a KamAZ truck chassis. A Ukrainian soldier quoted in the report said the truck had been captured in the first two months of the full-scale invasion, and the article said the mobile mounting improved crew maneuverability and shortened the time needed to enter and leave firing positions.
Defense Express separately described Ukrainian S-60 gun trucks in 2022 and assessed their wartime role as a mobile format useful against Russian drones, infantry, field fortifications, and light armored vehicles. Its article also reported that the guns were being mounted on trucks to improve mobility and that S-60s were most actively used against Russian forces in the Zaporizhzhia direction.
Sources: ArmyInform S-60 Kherson Front, Defense Express S-60 in Ukraine
Timeline
Public reporting places Ukrainian S-60 gun trucks in use by at least autumn 2022. Defense Express published its account on October 1, 2022, citing Ukrainian use of S-60 guns and describing May and September 2022 open-source photos of Ukrainian gun trucks. ArmyInform followed on October 17, 2022 with a front-line account from the Kherson direction.
The dated reporting supports use during the full-scale invasion phase rather than a pre-2022 Donbas-war appearance. It documents field use, not only storage or possession: both sources describe Ukrainian troops operating the guns against Russian forces, with ArmyInform tying the use to a named front and Defense Express explaining the truck-mounted battlefield role.
Sources: ArmyInform S-60 Kherson Front, Defense Express S-60 in Ukraine
Battlefield role
In Ukrainian service, the S-60 appears as a legacy anti-aircraft gun adapted for mobility and mixed battlefield tasks. ArmyInform reported Ukrainian soldiers saying the gun was most effective against Russian personnel and lightly armored vehicles at significant distance, while describing the original anti-aircraft role as outdated for some modern air targets.
Defense Express kept the air-defense role in view but framed it around wartime survivability and dispersed mobility. It reported that a truck-mounted S-60 could work against drones out to about 6 km and up to about 4 km altitude, while also being used against infantry, field fortifications, and light armor. The available sources therefore support both fire-support and counter-UAV air-defense roles, with the strongest location-specific evidence on the Kherson front.
Sources: ArmyInform S-60 Kherson Front, Defense Express S-60 in Ukraine
