Welcome to another research note, the new exclusive series of videos I’m sharing on Patreon spotlighting some of the ongoing research I’m doing into the weapons used in Ukraine. In these videos I share progress on topics that aren’t quite ready for a full video.

In 2020 Colt Canada introduced the C20, a 7.62x51mm marksman rifle. These have been adopted by both Canada and Denmark. Within the last couple of months a number of C20s have been seen in use in Ukraine.

A member of the Sniper Company of the Rubizh Brigade has been photographed with a C20. The brigade has posted photos of the individual and the rifle on a number of occasions from early October through to December. The rifle appears to have a Kahles K318i (3,5-18x50i) scope in a Spuhr ISMS mount and an what is likely an OSS HX-QD 762 suppressor. The rifle also appears to have a LaRue Tactical RISR Cheek Riser for its Magpul CTR MOE stock.

On 6 November, another image was shared by the UA Snipers page on Instagram, a community page which focuses on imagery of Ukrainian marksmen and snipers. The photo appears to have been taken at the range and while it doesn’t show the whole rifle the close up on the receiver allows us to see the Colt Canada CAGE number ‘2C085’. Also just visible is the Spuhr mount’s SP model number. The optic appears to be a high-end Schmidt and Bender from the PMII series.

The most recent image was posted on 2 December, showing a pair of Ukrainian combatants with C20s, the rifles both have HUXWRX suppressors but its difficult to identify the optic due to the image’s low resolution. Similarly, they appear to have the LaRue Tactical RISR cheek riser seen on the earlier example. The rifles’ optics appear to be mounted in Spuhr mounts and have thermal clip-ons ahead of the scopes. The affiliation of these combatants is unknown, they may be members of the SSO. When asked about the rifles, the page which shared the photo, noted that “impressions and reviews are good.”

The configuration of the rifles is very similar to those used by the Danish Armed Forces. Denmark adopted the C20 in September 2020. https://youtu.be/hejJU-IPEZ4 /

The number of sightings of the rifles is relatively small, but enough to confirm that a small number of Colt Canada C20 marksman rifles have been supplied to Ukraine and appear to have been issued to several units. The configuration and accessories of the rifles seem to suggest they originate from Denmark.

Special thanks to the guys at Streakingdelilah, Mike and Dikobraz for assistance.