Ukrainian forces annihilated another powerful Russian weapon

Ukrainian marines claimed they destroyed a unique Russian weapon while fighting on the southern frontlines. What did these troops eliminate? A self-propelled mortar system that has no Western equivalent. 

Troops from the 426th Separate Battalion of Unmanned Systems, which is a part of the Ukrainian Marine Corps, say they destroyed a 240mm heavy self-propelled mortar that is commonly known as a 2S4 Tyulpan or 2S4 Tulip.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Parutip, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Video of the incident was published alongside the 426th Separate Battalion’s remarks and showed the 2S4 Tyulpan being hit by first-person view drones. However, it wasn’t clear from the video evidence if the 2S4 Tyulpan was destroyed. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @426.obbs.marines

“When each soldier knows his task and each unit works as a single mechanism, the enemy has no chance,” the 426th Separate Battalion wrote in a statement that the unit published on Facebook according to Militarnyi. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @426.obbs.marines

“Effective cooperation between the units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the southern direction helped to destroy a Russian 240 mm mortar 2S4 Tulip,” the unit’s statement continued. This wasn’t the first time this type of weapon was targeted. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @426.obbs.marines

In early February 2025, drone operators from the Ukrainian Ground Forces took out a 2S4 Tyulpan with a first-person view drone and also released a video of the attack. 

Combat footage posted by the Khortytsia Operational-Strategic Group of the Ukrainian Ground Forces on its Telegram channel revealed the effective handiwork of the 100th Separate Mechanized Brigade's Voron aerial recon and strike unit.

Photo Credit: Telegram @Khortytsky_wind

"This time, the unmanned systems battalion's soldiers hit a huge target - a 2S4 Tyulpan self-propelled mortar. Thanks to a well-aimed drop, the enemy 'flower' lit up like a Christmas garland," a statement about the attack read according to Defense Express. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0

In the combat footage, a drone of an unknown model slowly positioned itself over top of the Russian Tyulpan before unloading a single bomb. It is unclear from the video if only one bomb was dropped or if there were others not included in the footage. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @Khortytsky_wind / Edited by The Daily Digest

The bomb in the video hit its mark and quickly caused the Russian mortar system to go up in flames before slowly backing away from the Tyulpan. Whether the mortar system was destroyed is unclear from the footage, though that was the outcome claimed. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @Khortytsky_wind

Defense Express reported that Russian forces use the 2S4 Tyulpan to “break down the strongest fortifications and shelters,” which makes the possible loss of such a system a major win for Ukraine. However, it isn’t a new Russian weapon. 

According to Army Recognition, the 2S4 Tyulpan was developed in the 1970s and was deployed by Moscow in 1975. The 240mm caliber self-propelled mortar carrier can hit a target at a maximum range of 18,000 meters (59,000 feet). 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0

“This weapon, which has no counterpart in Western service, is by far the largest-caliber mortar system in service,” wrote David Axe of Forbes in May 2022. He added in addition to its regular shells, the Tyulpan could fire laser-guided, rocket-assisted, and nuclear shells.

The Ukrainian military news website Militarnyi noted that the first recorded deployment of the 2S4 Tyulpan by Russia in Ukraine happened in April 2022. The mortar systems were used in Mariupol to shell soldiers in the Azovstal Steel and Iron Works. 

How many 2S4 Tyulpans have been deployed to Ukraine is unknown, but we do know that as of February 25th, 57 systems have been verified as destroyed since the Russian invasion began by the Dutch open-source intelligence firm Oryx using unique photo and video evidence. 

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Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Минобороны России, CC BY-SA 4.0