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Entering service in the early 1970s, the 2S1 Gvozdika was the first modern self-propelled howitzer of Soviet design. Based on the MT-LBu multipurpose chassis, it mounted the 2A18 122mm howitzer with a range of 15.3km using conventional shells. Ukraine inherited 638 from the USSR, and this fleet was reinforced by 49 examples acquired from the Czech Republic. These vehicles formed the backbone of the ZSU’s artillery brigades, and of its artillery groups assigned to tank and mechanised brigades. The hull has also been used as a base for the Kevlar-E IFV. This relatively rare example serving with the Russian VSRF was sighted in northern Ukraine in late February 2022. (Artwork by David Bocquelet)