Excavators for dugouts and trailers for transporting self-propelled guns: how SFE “Forests of Ukraine” supports the 43rd Separate Artillery Brigade?

The brigade has been carrying out combat missions since 2014. Its soldiers have fought on the Ukrainian-Russian border, near Donetsk and Luhansk. Since 2022, they have defended the Kyiv region and taken part in the Kharkiv and Kherson counteroffensive operations. For their successful battles, the brigade was personally commended by the President.

The brigade is armed with some of the best long-range Western artillery systems — 155 mm guns with a range of up to 60 km — including the Swedish Archer and the German Panzerhaubitze 2000, as well as the 203 mm Pion self-propelled gun.

These powerful self-propelled artillery units deliver large explosive charges capable of destroying fortified, armored, and large-scale targets often beyond the reach of small strike UAVs.

Such artillery systems are operated by skilled and highly experienced professionals who understand their construction, know how to service them quickly, and are well-versed in their operating principles.

Currently, the brigade’s artillerymen are carrying out missions almost along the entire front line. Given the intensity of the fighting, self-propelled guns must be protected. Even 20 km from the front line, the artillery is kept under cover. They drive out, fire, and quickly return to their shelters.

To conceal their equipment reliably, the soldiers build special shelters — dugouts known as caponiers. These are dug using excavators. Therefore, each artillery battery needs at least one excavator. The demand for them is constant since enemy drones continuously target and disable not only military equipment but also construction machinery.

The brigade turned to the management of our enterprise for help with such equipment. Last week, the head of SFE “Forests of Ukraine”, Yurii Bolokhovets, personally handed over several excavators and the keys to a Nissan X-Trail crossover.

This equipment had been in the enterprise’s use — it is fully functional and in excellent condition. We understand that it is now urgently needed by the Armed Forces. We provided as much as we could spare. If we were to purchase through a Prozorro public tender, it would take time — and on the front line, delays are unacceptable.

For equipment that will be needed by the military in the longer term, we make purchases. Recently, we provided the 43rd Artillery Brigade with five trailers for transporting self-propelled guns worth over 29 million UAH. The procurement was conducted through a tender with four participants, saving over 3 million UAH. The trailers are Ukrainian-made and adapted for transporting Western artillery systems.

During the handover of the excavators, the soldiers tested the trailers before sending them to the front line. A Pion self-propelled gun weighing nearly 50 tons and 3.4 meters wide was driven onto one of them. The test was successful. Now, self-propelled guns can be moved from one sector of the front to another within a single day.