OSINT researcher Jompy notes that since late summer–early autumn 2025, there has been a significant outflow of artillery pieces from Russian Armed Forces storage depots.
Exact numbers are difficult to determine, although Jompy noted some trends regarding the types of artillery used by Russian forces in combat and removed from storage:
Many artillery systems are dismantled to obtain barrels for replacement, while depots continue accumulating equipment without barrels.
Barrel removals most often involve systems such as the 2A36 (Hyacinth-B), 2A65 (Msta-B), M-46, and D-30.
Self-propelled guns (SPGs) are rarely restored from storage: apparently, the Russians use barrels from old Hyacinth-Bs on their new wheeled 2S44 Hyacinth-K SPGs, barrels from Msta-B on new Msta-S systems, and barrels from 2S1 Gvozdika are also removed for replacement.
The removal of M-46 barrels is explained by the fact that it is the only Russian gun capable of firing 130 mm shells.
Older D-1 howitzers and 100 mm anti-tank guns such as the MT-12 have practically disappeared from the battlefield, likely because ammunition stocks are exhausted.
Jompy also notes that 2S3 Akatsiya and 2S9 Nona are rarely seen on the battlefield, so remaining stockpiles at storage depots are not considered significant.
The researcher believes that the Russians are not interested in these systems because they have better alternatives and do not want to dedicate production capacity to restoring old systems.
Some artillery pieces at storage depots are unlikely to be restored due to poor technical condition.
According to Jompy’s latest calculations, the Russians still have about 36% of their pre-war artillery at storage depots.
