FT: Ukraine shells Russian positions with North Korea-made ammo

The munitions were likely produced in the 1980s-1990s and received from third countries

Ukraine’s artillery units use North Korea-made missiles and ammo to attack Russian army positions, Ukrainian soldiers told the Financial Times.

The artillery squads located near Bakhmut and using Grad missile launchers for the attacks showed the munitions to the newspaper reporters.

Judging by the markings, most of these shells were manufactured in the 1980s and the 1990s. It is unclear where the Ukrainian army got the ammo from. The service members claimed that they had obtained them from “friendly states”, who, in turn, “seized” them from someone else.

Ukraine’s military command believes that the ammo could have been taken from Russian troops. “We capture their tanks, we capture their equipment and it is very possible that this is also the result of the Ukrainian army successfully conducting a military operation,” adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister Yuriy Sak said.

Ukrainian soldiers warn that the Pyongyang-made munitions are not precise, often misfire, or fail to explode at all.

North Korea is one of Russia’s few allies in the war against Ukraine. Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu travelled to the country a few days ago to take part in the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

Western intelligence services earlier reported that Russia was likely obtaining arms from North Korea via third countries. In particular, the Wagner Group was suspected of obtaining Pyongyang-made shells. North Korea itself denies these accusations.