203mm shells of American production were spotted with Russians

The Russian gunners were spotted with 203mm artillery shells of American production.

This was reported by the Telegram channel “Ukrainian Informant.”

The photo shows the ammunition and marked propellant charge “203-2S7.” Obviously, the projectile is designed to fire with a 2S7 Pion self-propelled gun.

The number 203 indicates that the shell received the name “Izdeliye 203.” Ammunition with this name was found in the Russian range tables, which were written in 2023.

Marking on propellant charges and a range table may indicate that Russians received a large enough batch of these ammunition, and did not seize them from the Ukrainian military. Also, Russians could repack propellant charges and leave the container.

It can be assumed that Russia received these ammunition from Iranian arsenals. The country is known to operate American M110 203mm self-propelled guns.

In addition to Iran, M110 operates in Bahrain, Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Taiwan and Turkey.

Iranian shells in the Russian arsenal

Recently, Militarnyi reported that Iran had supplied the Russian military with a batch of 120mm mortar rounds, which had been manufactured in 2023.

Mortar rounds are placed immediately with propellant charges in a plastic tube. Additional propellant charges are used to increase the maximum range of such rounds.

In 2023, it became known that Iran had sold just over a million dollars worth of ammunition to Russia for the war against Ukraine. Iran and Russia signed a contract for ammunition back in September 2022.

According to the released contract, Iran sold various types of missiles and ammunition. An appendix to the contract states that Iran transferred 125mm barrels for T-72 tanks, barrels for D-30 122mm howitzer, tank, artillery ammunition.

As previously reported, Russians also use Iranian 122mm high-explosive shells of the Arash family for BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers.