Russia is buying millions of artillery shells and rockets from North Korea, according to newly declassified American intelligence, The New York Times reports.
The United States provided few details from the declassified intelligence about the exact weaponry, timing or size of the shipment, and there is no way yet to independently verify the sale. A US official said that, beyond short-range rockets and artillery shells, Russia was expected to try to purchase additional North Korean equipment going forward.
“The Kremlin should be alarmed that it has to buy anything at all from North Korea,” said Mason Clark, who leads the Russia team at the Institute for the Study of War.
Moscow had hoped that China would be willing to continue to supply the Russian military, but in recent days, American officials have said that while China was willing to buy Russian oil at a discount, Beijing, at least so far, has respected the export controls aimed at Moscow’s military and not tried to sell either military equipment or components.
Meanwhile, Iran sends drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, as The Washington Post reported last Tuesday. Russian cargo planes quietly picked up the first of scores of Iranian-made combat drones for use against Ukraine on 19 August, US officials said, in a move that underscores deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran while also highlighting Russia’s struggles to supply its overstretched military.
