Russia Reportedly Buys Artillery And Rocket Ammunitions From North Korea

Illustration of the convoy of Russian military vehicles. (Source: Ministry of Defense of Russia/Dmitry Shutov)

JAKARTA - US intelligence assesses Russia bought artillery ammunition and rockets from North Korea, according to a New York Times report, following a previous report saying the country's military had started using Iranian-made drones.

US Government officials told the Times the purchase showed sanctions began to bite and reduce Russia's ability to maintain its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".

The Times report on Monday said intelligence information that was recently classified did not provide details on what was purchased, in addition to saying the items included artillery ammunition and rockets.

Russia is expected to buy more such equipment, the Times reported.

Last month a US official told Reuters that Russian-made drones had suffered "many failures".

The official said Russia was most likely planning to acquire hundreds of Mohajer-6 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the Shahed series from Iran.

Ukraine recently launched retaliatory attacks in several locations, including around Kherson, which has been occupied by Russia since the start of the invasion. In preparation for the attack, Ukrainian troops attacked Russian supply areas, including those containing artillery and ammunition.

Meanwhile, officials said Western sanctions limited Russia's ability to replace destroyed vehicles and weapons in Ukraine.