Guns of Ukraine war picture thread

[Suck My Glock]

Accuracy International .338 Lapua sniper rifle.


Many Glocks have been sent to Ukraine, like this G17 in this guy's holster here.


But there also plenty of domestically produced pistols, made by FORT. This is their most modern design, which was primarily in use with the police forces prior to the current invasion. This is the FORT 20. It is rumored that many CZ designers have been employed by FORT over the years. But which designs they influenced is unclear.


Look Ma,...I got a suppressed Stetchkin to go with my Malyuk!


A rare A-545 captured from a Wagnerite who no longer needs it. The A-545 is the latest generation of the previous AEK-971. The A-545 was adopted for special forces and police in 2018 and serial production commenced summer of 2020. So these are all rather new, and rarely encountered.

[Suck My Glock]

Here we see an example of supply shortages for Russian soldiers. This poor sucker has only half a suppressor rather than a full suppressor. I'm guessing his rifle doesn't bark like a big dog, but it ain't no hush puppy either.


Ukrainian farm boys are the eastern bloc twin cousins of every American Bubba redneck. Just look at this farmer welding special. Can't engineer how to mount a post in the truck bed strong enough to not tear itself out while Yuri is pulling on the spade grips of a .50 that hammers the schit out of the base? No problem, comrade, just make a pyramid over the truck rails. Oh, and stick a muffler on that barking bich!


Here's recent video from Bakhmut where the Russians have been beating their heads against the wall for months. We see a surprisingly uncommon Belgian-donated FN/FAL, along with a GROT and a Tokarev pistol.

[Suck My Glock]

With so many AR15 rifles of all sorts in Ukrainian service, it is sometimes hard to single out and identify particular models or batches. Some are Z15s made by UKROP domestically. Some are true M4s donated by the US. Some are commercial semi-autos owned by citizens that were pressed into service, representing many brands like Savage, North American Arms, POF-USA, Ruger and Diamondback. And here, we see a SIG 516, but with a Daniel Defense rear stock. The picture has good enough resolution to tell that the sear hole above the selector is there, so this doesn't seem to have been a civilian purchased rifle, although it certainly COULD have been converted. Ukraine certainly did buy a lot of SIG Virtus rifles, and a few 716s in .308 as well. I've spied a few 516s in photos, usually on the range. I've also seen a fair number of Daniel Defense riles scattered about. Did this DD stock come off a rifle that was battle damaged and its parts recycled to keep others running? Who knows.


Another SIG 516 along with some Javelins. These definitely appear to have been issued to at least one unit or branch.


A heavily modified AK74 from Ukrainian SF.


A typical Ukrainian urban load out.


One of the few benefits of Russian low education is that many of the knuckle-draggers that make up their murderous thug gang is that the average slob wouldn't know OPSEC from a hole in the ground. This brain-dead fool posing with his painted PKM inside the lobby of the Grand Prix Country Club in Sahy,...just 5 miles on the other side of the Dneiper River from Ukrainian artillery in Kherson got his entire company wiped out yesterday by posting this and other pictures on VK (Russia's version of Facebook). Not only was the country club logo visible in the photos, but the dumb ninny left his geolocation feature on,...showing exactly where to target a bombardment.


Russia has announced the latest variant of the AK12, the AK12M1, which will allegedly enter production late this year. Introduces some changes based on feedback from the Ukraine war. Features the new stock/cheek rest combo and ambi fire selector from the AK-12SP. An AK-19 style fixed flash suppressor replaces the earlier pattern brake.


The new ambi selector ditches the 2-round burst capability, and apparently, also now mechanically locks the bolt when the safety is engaged (rather than just blocking the bolt's full range of rearward travel).


The traditional rear AK sight, or the 2nd Gen diopter, have been replaced by a flip-up aperture. A 'П' battle sight (0.5 - 200 m, with additional night sight) and 600 m apertures are available. The Finns and Israel did this decades ago...

[Suck My Glock]

In the southern part of Ukraine, it is like Kansas;...flat and open. It is terrain for tanks and artillery. Yet men on foot need to occupy it. Rifles here are best if they reach waaaaay out there. Consequently, the big .50 rifles get a real workout there. Here we see another Barrett 99A1 in the wild near Kurdiumivka, not far from Bakhmut.




War is the laboratory of future weapons systems and the live fire proving ground where ideas are tested. That of course includes even the simple rifle. We in the civilian world play around with accessories and new ideas of how to improve rifles, and that often gets carried over into the real conflicts, where some soldiers try out that wacky civilian accessory stuff. This here is an example of many common customizations seen all over the Ukraine war, on BOTH sides. We see an adjustable (and usually folding) buttstock, Magpul pistol grip, a Texas Weapons Systems railed top cover, a variable magnification optic with a throw lever, over-sized bolt handle and free-floating handguard with accessory rails. Soldiers that have the bucks to spend and who have connections to get parts delivered often alter their rifles in this manner or similar. It also tends to show a sense of ownership in the weapon, perhaps suggesting that when the war is over, these may be unlikely to be turned in and probably declared as lost in battle. Most of these will end up buried under the barn when everything is over. When Yugoslavia broke up in the 90's, Nazi weapons materialized out of everywhere. Obviously, most Europeans know war never truly ends and the ceasefire is always temporary,...so hold onto those weapons, Yakov.

[Suck My Glock]

It turns out that the SIG 516s we see in Ukraine were part of a purchase the SBU made a number of years ago. (The SBU is the national police - sort of the FBI and Homeland Security rolled into one.) Here's a picture of an SBU operator from a few days ago with an Aimpoint CompM4 on his suppressed SIG 516 and a Glock on his hip.


Not at all an uncommon way to see Ukrainian AKs in the field now. Especially privately owned ones carried into the war from the beginning by their owners. This is Petr, who runs supplies to units from rear areas in his own vehicle, which he has been doing since April. Petr worked as an employee of a hydroponic tomato farm in the Czech Republic and returned home to the fight. (Many Ukrainians work abroad throughout Europe because the wages are higher.) With his connection in other countries, he has been a conduit of donations of supplies, and simply assigned himself the role of independent supply officer. Sometimes he gets medical supplies. Other times it is body armor. Other times it is drones or radios. He then dispatches himself to where he knows those things are needed or lacking. His rifle was given to him by an uncle. His Czech friends have been supplying Magpul stocks, magazines, EOTech sights, magnifiers, extended handguards and other rifle accessories, which he has distributed to troops, as well as put on his own. One the units he visited gave him the suppressor. This and other trickles of supply of AK rifle upgrades has slowly seen a growing percentage of rifles in the field now sporting these. When Russian draftees who hardly have a pot to piss in and are freezing to death see gear like this, they get very enraged. Ha ha ha,...suck it, Yuri.


More FN SCAR-L examples. These guys belong to B section of FOG (Forward Observations Group), called by their NATO advisors as "Brave" Group. Brave Group from its beginning has had a fetish for Norse and viking imagery, which if you look closely, explains the decal on the rifle on the right of a viking long boat. Rumor has it that this started because some of their first advisors were Norwegian.


Here's an interesting bit of crappy Russian gear. Someone it Russia decided to copy the idea from 2006 of the "Dragonscale" body armor. But instead of using Titanium discs (and most of the world's Titanium comes from Russia), the fools tried using Aluminum instead. And of course, a rifle round just zipped right on through that. More evidence of systemic fraud in the Russian military procurement system.

[xerts1191]

[Suck My Glock]

Here's a Ukrainian PKM gunner. Notice the pinkish brown color on the barrel? That is from getting the barrel toasty hot from prolonged shooting and then cooling down with snow. So there is a new fresh speckling of rust causing that discoloration. By western standards, it's time to discard that barrel and fit a new one. But In Ukraine, stuff just gets used and used and used until it doesn't work anymore. Until this barrel starts throwing bullets sideways, this one will remain in use.


More U.S. M14s at the front.



Despite all the western aid and weapons being supplied, every available weapon is still being deployed. Here we see another Degtarev DP28 (without the pizza pan magazine mounted on top) still in the field being used.


Here's a few guys posing in front of the MIG-15 monument in Bakhmut. Two Canadian C7A2s with ELCANs, a Polish GROT from the initial 2016 Special Forces contract that has returned from Afghanistan and an FN/MAG58 center front.

[Suck My Glock]

Another privately owned Remington ACR being used with a suppressor at the front, this time in Bahkmut. The ACR and the Polish GROT look so similar, it is easy to mistake one for the other. Most all of the ACRs are in flat dark earth color, and most of the GROTs are black. But that is not universal. The very first GROTs the Polish issued went to their special forces serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO coalition and were also finished in FDE, while all other Polish Army contract fulfillment since then have been plain black. Both types have been shipped to Ukraine.


Here's another Remington rifle, an M700, in a locally produced chassis by "Automatic", with what appears to be a Kahles K1050.



Here's another Barrett MRAD, but with an Archer TSA 9/75 thermal optic, being deployed in Bahkmut also.

[Suck My Glock]

Despite all the AR15 variants observed in Ukraine, there have not been very many HK416, like this one. Foreign advisor, perhaps? Hmmmm.


Ukraine sure bet heavy on the piston-driven AR systems. Here are samples from 2 separate SIG contracts; a Virtus, sporting a Surefire suppressor, and a SIG 516 with a red dot and magnifier.


Can't hump a ruck anymore? Still want to kill Russian bastards but only have 1 leg? No problem, kid. You like video games? Here's a drone and some munitions. Let's go drop some doom on those kok suckers.


More Barrett goodness.


More painted SCARs


This is a member of the special forces Forward Observations Group (FOG), who are usually seen outfitted with SIG Virtus rifles. However, this dude has what appears to be a U.S. gov't supplied M4 that has been customized with a LAW Gen3 folding adapter. He also has an aftermarket charging handle for reducing back-gassing with a suppressor. This is the first confirmation I've seen of a folding AR buffer tube system in combat use.

[Suck My Glock]

The Tavor contract with IWI was 10 years ago. FORT built them there under license until the home-grown AK74-based Malyuk bullpup came about. While the Tavors are still around and have been seen on the battlefield, they are not seen as frequently as they used to. While the Malyuk is seen everywhere, the Tavor seems to only pop up occasionally now.


I stated early on in this thread, back in early March, how having an AK-12 was a little bit of a status symbol, since the only way you could have one was to go out there and kill the enemy and take his. Well,...they're a bit more common now. But having a VSSM in 9x39 is a little different. Not only are there not as many issued by the forces of evil, but they usually are only issued to airborne, spetznatz, Wagner or other somewhat competent troops. Because it's greatest utility is in built up urban areas, typically these only get captured engaging in brutal house-to-house combat. It's definitely considered a trophy by those who capture them.


More diverse and recent private AR rifles continue to be in evidence and still in use. Here we see a Geissele Super Duty, which only hit the open market in late 2020. (Photo taken back in October.) I'm not aware of any government contracts of these being delivered, so this is very likely an individually purchased private weapon.


The legendary Russian KS-23 shotgun, chambered in 23x75mm, which is about 6.25 gauge. (By comparison, 12ga. is only 18.5mm.)

[Suck My Glock]

Many countries are cleaning out their closets and sending their surplus weaponry to Ukraine. The Czech Republic just donated thousands of old war reserve VZ-26s. These are unlikely to be sent to the front, but can certainly be issued to vehicle crews and guards and other rear echelon types.




Another Savage 110 Elite Precision in .338Lapua


Not many SVT-40s still out there banging away, but there are a few.

[Suck My Glock]

3 American volunteer artillerymen assigned to haul ammunition with their Hummer and trailer. For ease of getting in and out of the Hummer, they've been issued new AKSU-74s.


Here's some combat footage from a foreign volunteer unit with a lot of English-speakers; most of them American, clearing out a Spetznatz unit barricaded in a house in Kherson 3 months ago.


Wondering what happened to all the 1st Gen M110 SASS Knights Armament rifles that have been replaced by the newer M110 CSASS HK417 versions? Yep,...off to Ukraine they have gone. But hey, at least they are getting to fulfill their fate of solidly sharpshooting satanic slavic schitheads in the sphincter.


I was never in the armed forces, but I was a Boy Scout, so even I know this American flag patch is sewn on completely wrong. And since the only Americans that the Ukrainians accept into their foreign volunteer battalions are verified former service members, there's no way this dude is an actual American. However, he certainly is exuding an American attitude. Screw that ditch living and humping gear all over the place. Just gimme a belt-fed at a fixed position where I can sit on my azz and watch the clouds. So maybe we call him an honorary American Bubba.


When the press mustache you a question about your FN SCAR.

[XJThrottle]

I was never in the armed forces, but I was a Boy Scout, so even I know this American flag patch is sewn on completely wrong. And since the only Americans that the Ukrainians accept into their foreign volunteer battalions are verified former service members, there's no way this dude is an actual American. However, he certainly is exuding an American attitude. Screw that ditch living and humping gear all over the place. Just gimme a belt-fed at a fixed position where I can sit on my azz and watch the clouds. So maybe we call him an honorary American Bubba.

He's kinda got it right... When displayed vertically, stars are top left.

[Boriqua]

Hey Suck My Glock
I still dont think we should be sending billions of dollars to Ukraine but the thread with all its pictures and commentary is awesome!

[Suck My Glock]

He's kinda got it right... When displayed vertically, stars are top left.

Absolutely correct, but I'm not aware of any uniform ever where the patch is displayed in that fashion.

Now maybe for some reason the guy didn't have access to the mirror image patch,...but just display it appropriately on the other side if that's the case. If I had ever done this as a kid and my Dad saw that, I'd get an azz-whoopin' right after he ripped that jacket off me.