A rare 9 mm submachine gun, the Israeli Fort-224, was reportedly seized by Russian special forces from a Ukrainian workshop in Mariupol. The claim, attributed to the Telegram channel Mash, notes that the weapon was assembled in Ukraine at a facility in Vinnitsa during the 2010s. This same factory is said to have produced the Tar-21 assault rifle, known as Fort-221, and during the early phase of the Donbass conflict, the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly ordered a batch of 500 rifles from it. Reports indicate that roughly 400 of these were Tar-21 rifles and the remaining units included Fort-224 models. While the majority of the Fort-224 rifles were configured for 5.56 mm cartridges, a minority were manufactured to chamber a 9 mm cartridge.
Observers suggest that the Fort-224 may have been in the hands of a soldier associated with the Azov battalion, an organization designated as banned in Russia. It is claimed that the weapon suffered a grenade strike to the grip area, leading to damage at the handle. In the aftermath, the PP grip of the Fort-224 allegedly was replaced with the ergonomics of an American M-16 rifle. Current reports state that this relatively rare firearm is now being carried by patrol units in Mariupol.
Prior to the Fort-224, Russian forces are said to have relied on GM-94 grenade launchers and PP-2000 submachine guns in the same theater.
There are also mentions of an anti-drone system developed by Russian engineers, known as Stepashka, which was presented to the public before these events.
From a broader perspective, analysts note that the flow of weapons through the conflict zone often involves devices with mixed origins and varied configurations. Such items frequently appear in battlefield footprints as soldiers adapt foreign designs to local needs. This pattern underscores the kinetic reality of the conflict, where equipment once intended for one theater can surface in another under rapidly evolving conditions. Experts emphasize that the Fort-224’s appearance illustrates how scarce or unusual firearms can travel through multiple hands and regimes before appearing in a frontline setting. The situation also highlights the challenges of tracking small arms across war zones, where documentation may be incomplete and rumors can travel quickly.
In reviewing these developments, security researchers and historians seek to map the chain of custody for unusual weapons, understanding how a weapon produced in one country winds up in another’s conflict zone. They pay attention to the manufacturing origins, the routes through intermediary states, and the practical reasons soldiers might favor a 9 mm variant for urban patrols. The discussion also touches on the broader topic of how military hardware migrates in times of war and how non-state actors influence the distribution of specialty firearms. The Fort-224 episode serves as a case study in the complexities of modern arms circulation, where a single seized item can illuminate a network of production, procurement, and battlefield adaptation.