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Ukraine buys Soviet-made Gvozdika self-propelled artillery guns from Czech Republic

Gvozdika artillery guns used to be produced in the Soviet Union, Poland and Bulgaria

Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system Yuri Smityuk/TASS

Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

KIEV, September 24. /TASS/. The Ukrainian state-run company Ukrinmash has purchased 16 Soviet-made 122mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems from the Czech Republic, the Ukrainian website Defense Express reported on Tuesday.

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According to the Ukrainian publication Delovaya Stolitsa, 563 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery guns operational in the Soviet army remained in Ukraine in 1992. However, only 300 artillery systems were operational in 2014 due to the weapons’ wear and tear and the sale of some of the guns to other countries. In 2018, Ukraine signed a contract on the delivery of Polish-made Gvozdika guns from the Czech Republic and received 40 artillery systems.

The Gvozdika self-propelled artillery gun was developed at the Kharkov-based Sergo Ordzhonikidze Plant and was adopted for service in most countries of the Warsaw Pact in the 1970s. Gvozdika artillery guns were produced in the Soviet Union, Poland and Bulgaria.

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