Found an ally: US intelligence found that Putin buys weapons and missiles from North Korea

Russia is buying millions of artillery shells and missiles from North Korea, according to recently declassified US intelligence, in a sign that global sanctions have severely restricted its supply chains and forced Moscow to turn to rogue states for help. NewYorkTimes.

Photo: IStock

The disclosure comes days after Russia received the first shipments of Iranian-made drones, some of which US officials said had mechanical problems. US government officials said Russia's decision to turn to Iran, and now North Korea, was a sign that sanctions and export controls imposed by the United States and Europe are preventing Moscow from getting supplies for its army.

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The United States has provided few details from the declassified intelligence on the exact weapons, timing, or lot size, and there is no way to independently verify the sale yet. A US official said that, in addition to short-range missiles and artillery shells, Russia is expected to try to purchase additional North Korean equipment in the future.

"The Kremlin should be alarmed that it has to buy anything from North Korea at all," said Mason Clark, who heads the Russian team at the Institute for the Study of War.

Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the White House began declassifying intelligence reports about Moscow's military plans, and then disclosing those materials, first privately and then publicly, to allies. After a lull in the revelations, the US government has again begun to declassify information to draw attention to the problems of the Russian army, including recent intelligence about the purchase of Iranian drones and the Russian army's problems with recruiting soldiers.

Broad economic sanctions, at least so far, have not harmed Russia. The energy prices caused by the invasion filled its coffers and allowed Moscow to soften the impact of cutting off its banks from international finance and restricting exports and imports. Sanctions against individual Russian oligarchs have also failed to undermine the power of President Vladimir Putin.

But US officials said that when it came to Russia's ability to rebuild its military, the economic actions of Europe and the United States proved effective. US and European sanctions have blocked Russia's ability to buy weapons or electronics to produce those weapons.

Moscow hoped that China would be willing to break these export controls and continue to supply the Russian military. But in recent days, US officials have said that while China has been willing to buy Russian oil at a discount, Beijing has, at least so far, enforced export controls against Moscow's military and has not attempted to sell military equipment or components.

Trade official Gina Raimondo has repeatedly warned China that if Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China's largest computer chip maker, or other companies violate sanctions against Russia, the United States will effectively shut down those businesses, denying them access to US semiconductor technology.

With most countries acting cautiously in the face of US pressure, Russia has focused its efforts on making deals with Iran and North Korea.

Both Iran and North Korea are largely cut off from international trade due to US and international sanctions, meaning neither country has much to lose by making deals with Russia. Any deal to buy weapons from North Korea would be in violation of UN resolutions aimed at curbing the spread of weapons from Pyongyang.

However, it is not clear to what extent purchases from North Korea are related to export controls. There is nothing high-tech about a 152-millimeter artillery shell or a North Korean-produced Katyusha missile, according to Frederick Kagan, a military expert at the American Enterprise Institute.

A US official said the new deal with North Korea showed Moscow's desperation. And Kagan said that turning to North Korea was a sign that Russia was apparently unable to produce the basic equipment needed to wage war.

“The only reason the Kremlin should buy artillery shells or missiles from North Korea or anyone else is because Putin is unwilling or unable to mobilize the Russian economy for war even at the most basic level,” Kagan said.

Restricting Russia's military supply chain is a central part of the US strategy to weaken Moscow in order to thwart both its military efforts in Ukraine and its future ability to threaten its neighbors.

Moscow has problems with its high-tech weaponry. Precision weapons such as cruise missiles often fail. In the early stages of the war, half or more of these guns either failed to fire or hit their targets.

Russia's stockpiles of these precision-guided weapons have also dwindled, forcing generals to rely less on missiles and instead build their strategy around brutal artillery shelling, destroying cities in Ukraine's eastern region.

The revelation that Russia is looking for more artillery ammunition is a sign that Moscow's supply problems likely go deeper than just high-tech components for modern tanks or precision-guided missiles. If Russia is looking for more artillery shells in North Korea, then it is facing a shortage or may face a shortage in the future, with its industrial base struggling to meet military needs.

“It is very likely that this is indicative of the massive failure of the Russian military-industrial complex, which is likely to have deep roots and very serious consequences for the Russian military,” Kagan said.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian ammunition depots. Ukrainian forces used the US High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and US intelligence reports to strike behind the lines and destroy ammunition caches.

While it is not clear what impact this offensive had on overall ammunition stocks, Russia was forced to retreat and relocate its ammunition storage sites, reducing the effectiveness of its artillery forces.

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There were also indications that the effectiveness of some Russian artillery shells had declined due to storage problems or poor maintenance of ammunition stocks. In order to most effectively hit enemy troops, artillery shells explode in the air, just before falling to the ground. But craters created by Russian artillery forces over the summer showed that many of their shells were exploding on the ground, reducing damage to Ukrainian forces.

While the status of North Korean artillery shells is unclear, the country has extensive stockpiles of ammunition.

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