North Korea has reduced its deliveries of artillery shells to Russia by more than half due to depletion of its stocks, and at the same time, against this background, the regime in Pyongyang has begun production of its own military drones, the deputy head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Vadim Skibitsky, said in an interview with Reuters, BTA reported.
The delivery of millions of artillery shells from North Korea helped Russia maintain the pace of firing on the battlefield in 2024, but according to Skibitsky, their number has dropped by more than half this year due to the reduction of Pyongyang's stocks.
He pointed out that since 2023, the DPRK has delivered a total of 6.5 million artillery shells. The military intelligence official added that no deliveries of ammunition from North Korea were recorded in September, but there were several in October. About half of the shells delivered by Pyongyang were so old that they needed to be reworked in Russian factories, he noted. Skibitsky added that North Korea had also begun mass production of short- and medium-range attack drones. Thousands of North Korean soldiers fought alongside Russian forces in Russia's Kursk region last year after Ukraine invaded it. Pyongyang has acknowledged its involvement in the war in Ukraine, saying its role was to help maintain world peace amid Western aggression, but it did not provide any details or respond to requests for comment on its involvement.