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New Ukrainian-made 2P22 “Bohdana-B” guns have been delivered to the 40th Separate Artillery Brigade named after Grand Duke Vytautas.
ArmyInform correspondents visited the brigade’s artillery division in Kharkiv region and talked with the gun crews about their combat work.
Vasyl — senior soldier, gun commander — says it’s pleasant to work with domestically produced weapons. The caliber of this gun is 155 mm, its weight is nine and a half tons, it is towed artillery, and it appeared in the unit in 2025. During that time their unit has hit many enemy targets: artillery and mortar positions, infantry.
The gun fires accurately, although it requires some minor adjustment. Vasyl says: compared to the M777, which he worked with previously, there is not a big difference.
“I’ve been in artillery for seven years. The main thing is a well-coordinated crew and trained personnel so the guys understand who does what. The shells for it, charges, primers are the same as for the M777 — NATO standard”.
Yevhen — chief sergeant, also a gun commander — adds that the gun is quite convenient and simple to operate.
“It fires at a maximum range of 28–30 kilometers. We mainly use high-explosive fragmentation shells to strike enemy infantry, dugouts and equipment. Depending on the target, we use cluster, high-explosive or fragmentation shells”.
Yevhen has served as a gunner in the Armed Forces for four years, progressing from crew member to gun commander. He proudly recalls how in 2022 his crew hit an enemy self-propelled artillery unit that was moving at full speed. Now, with the war shifting to a more positional phase, hits are mainly against enemy artillery. They have repeatedly smashed occupiers’ positions with Msta-B and Giatsint systems, mainly hitting older Soviet models:
“I like our Bohdana-B. First, because it’s ours, and second — no one will tell us what they gave us or didn’t give us; it’s very good that this weapon is produced here”.
Serhii — crew member, senior soldier — is responsible in the crew for presenting the propellant charge to bring the gun into action.
“Propellant charges differ by range. My task is simple: the commander gives the order which charge number to present, I present it, and then the guys load and fire”.
Serhii worked for the State Emergency Service in the fire service, was mobilized in 2022, and has served in this unit since then. He considers speed the main thing in an artilleryman’s work, to help our infantry.
“The coordination in our crew is perfect; we work fast and accurately — that’s what we rely on”.
