A year since the start of the war: pictures of the old but impressive 203mm Soviet-made 2S7 “Peon” self-propelled guns of the 43rd Artillery Corps on their way to the front through Kiev on 24 February 2022.
SELF-PROPELLED GUNS 2S7 BIONPhotography: Video Capture – Paul Javin
The “Peon” self-propelled guns are so heavy that they require a crew of 14 to operate them, with 7 soldiers stationed at the front and traveling with them in a support vehicle.
Entered active service in 1975, only 8 countries in the world still have 203 mm heavy artillery pieces: Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
The Ukrainians took 99 2S7 “Peon” self-propelled guns out of storage after the outbreak of war, as the Russian Armed Forces enjoyed tremendous superiority in terms of conventional artillery.
According to an estimate released this year by the UK think tank the Institute for International Strategic Studies, the Russian armed forces had 60 2S7 guns in active service and 260 in reserve before the outbreak of war.
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