North Korea has supplied Russia with 4-6 million shells – Reuters investigation
Over the past 20 months North Korea has supplied Russia with at least four million artillery shells, which are being extensively used in the war against Ukraine. A Reuters investigation has confirmed that deliveries have been taking place on a large and systematic scale via sea and rail routes, significantly boosting Russian military capabilities.
Source: the investigation by Reuters in cooperation with the Open Source Centre (OSC), a UK-based non-profit producing open-source research on global security threats
Details: OSC analysts tracked 64 trips made to the North Korean port of Rajin between September 2023 and March 2025 by four Russian-flagged container ships – the Angara, Maria, Maia-1 and Lady R. The ships delivered nearly 16,000 containers of North Korean shells and other ammunition to the Russian ports of Vostochny and Dunai before they were transported by rail to depots near the Ukrainian border.
Quote: "It's not possible to verify the ammunition inside each shipping container, but OSC estimated what it called a conservative range of 4-6 million artillery rounds alone, based on Ukraine's assessment of their prevalence and probable packing patterns."
Details: In addition to artillery shells, North Korea has also supplied multiple-launch rocket systems, self-propelled artillery units and ballistic missiles to Russia.
North Korea has become a key source of ammunition for the Russian military. The scale and systematic nature of these supplies point to a new level of military and political partnership between the two sanctioned countries.
According to Reuters, the vast majority of shells used by certain Russian units over the past year were from North Korea.
Reuters analysed daily reports from Russian artillery units and found that on some days, up to 100% of the ammunition used was of North Korean origin. In other cases this figure reached 75%.
Quote: "Last summer, a unit on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia front reported nearly 50% of the shells fired by its D-20 howitzers were North Korean 152mm shells, while 100% of its 122mm rockets were North Korean."
Details: Ukraine's Defence Intelligence said North Korea has supplied Russia with over four million artillery shells since mid-2023, including 122mm and 152mm calibre rounds, which are the core of Russian artillery units' munitions.
"North Korea's contribution has been strategically vital. Without Chairman Kim Jong Un's support, President Vladimir Putin wouldn't really be able to prosecute his war in Ukraine," said Hugh Griffiths, former coordinator of the UN panel of experts on North Korea sanctions. [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda doesn't recognise Putin as president – ed.]
Quote from Reuters: "Either way, North Korean deliveries would be a sizable addition to Russia's production, estimated by Ukrainian and Western officials at 2-2.3 million artillery shells in 2024.
US Army General Christopher Cavoli, the top US general in Europe, told American lawmakers on 3 April that he anticipated Russia's yearly production to be 3 million artillery shells, without specifying when that could happen."
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