The Russian army has in its arsenal a specific self-propelled artillery system known as "Magnolia," which has a caliber of 120 mm. The announcement for the start of its serial production was made in 2022.
A key feature of this self-propelled gun (SPG) is that it is based on the chassis of the arctic tracked two-link vehicle DT-30PM. Additionally, this SPG "Magnolia" has not been recorded in combat against the Armed Forces of Ukraine up to this point.
The mention of the existence of the Russian SPG "Magnolia" was prompted by the appearance of a video on social media showing a traffic accident involving this artillery system in the distant Russian city of Perm in January 2025. This is indeed a significant information trigger, as there had been no public mentions of this type of Russian artillery weapon in the previous two years.
Next, let’s briefly recall the known characteristics of the SPG "Magnolia": its main armament is a 120 mm caliber 2A80 howitzer-mortar, with a firing range of up to 7-10 kilometers, a rate of fire of 8-10 rounds per minute, and a carried ammunition load of 80 rounds.
The mass of the DT-30PM chassis, which serves as the base for the "Magnolia" SPG, is 30 tons. It is worth noting that this artillery system uses a turret similar to that found on the 2S31 "Vienna," which were predominantly sold to Azerbaijan but unexpectedly re-emerged in the ranks of the Russian occupation forces by the end of 2023. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that the 2A80 was initially mounted on the 2S31 "Vienna" before being transferred to the "Magnolia" SPG.
Against this backdrop, two hypotheses can be formulated regarding why the Russians have not utilized their specific SPG "Magnolia" in battles against the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the general purpose of such a weapon.
The first hypothesis is that the Russian military may have assessed that since they already possess the 2S31 "Vienna," a self-propelled "duplicate" with the same armament is essentially unnecessary for them. Moreover, the DT-30PM chassis is not commonly found within the Russian army, which could lead to logistical challenges for servicing such a vehicle near the front lines.
The second hypothesis is that despite all the expenditures and losses in the war against Ukraine, the Kremlin still harbors ambitions to enhance its military presence in the Arctic region. For this purpose, the Russians may be keeping a certain "reserve" of equipment, including the SPG "Magnolia," which was specifically designed for operations in the Arctic and has yet to be employed in battles against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
