American intelligence has estimated that Moscow is buying millions of shells and rockets from North Korea, according to the New York Times, following reports that the Russian military has begun using Iranian-made drones. Radio Free Europe.
US officials said they could confirm that the New York Times report was accurate and that additional Russian purchases of North Korean military equipment were expected.
"The Russian Defense Ministry is in the process of buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use on the battlefield in Ukraine," the official said via email, according to Reuters.
He said the purchases show that the Russian military "continues to suffer from a serious shortage of equipment supplies in Ukraine, in part due to export controls and sanctions."
"We expect that Russia may try to buy additional North Korean military equipment in the future," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The Times quoted US government officials as saying the purchases showed that US-led sanctions had begun to reduce Russia's ability to sustain itself in the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow called a "special military operation".
A New York Times report said intelligence recently made public did not provide any details on what was purchased, other than that the items included artillery shells and rockets.
Last month, a US official told Reuters that Iranian-made Russian drones had suffered "numerous malfunctions".
Ukraine recently launched a counter-offensive in several locations, including the area around Kherson, which Russia occupied at the beginning of the invasion. In preparation for those attacks, Ukrainian forces attacked Russian supply areas, including those with artillery and ammunition.
Officials said Western sanctions limited Russia's ability to replace vehicles and weapons destroyed in Ukraine.
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