While European military aid is lagging behind, Russia can count on the active support of its autocratic friends: according to Ukrainian intelligence, North Korea has supplied Russia with about a million shots.
The ammunition consists mainly of 122mm and 152mm artillery shells, Vadym Skibitsky, a representative of the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service (HUR) said in an interview with RBC Ukraine. North Korea has thus achieved what the EU has so far only promised to Ukraine. The European Union member states want to deliver one million artillery shells to Ukraine by spring 2024.
Russia is intensifying contact with North Korea
Europe continues to lag behind in arms production, despite loud calls to increase military aid to Ukraine. Recently, Estonian President Alar Karis called for increasing production capacity in the arms industry to give Ukrainians the necessary means to defend themselves against the invaders. Meanwhile, the Russian government is working hard to further increase military cooperation with North Korea and Iran.
According to information from the Kremlin, ruler Vladimir Putin wants to travel to internationally isolated North Korea “in the near future”. Putin has received an invitation, “we hope the visit will be successful,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
The North Korean Foreign Minister in Moscow
After starting its war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia activated relations with internationally isolated North Korea. Putin received North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the fall. It is also said that Pyongyang supplied weapons to Moscow for the war. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui is currently on a three-day visit to Moscow. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov received his North Korean counterpart Choe on Monday. It is not impossible that Putin will receive them too, Peskov said.
Recently, about fifty countries condemned the delivery of North Korean missiles to Russia and their use against Ukraine. However, experts suspect that Moscow and Pyongyang want to expand their arms partnership despite international criticism.
Military cooperation with Iran
Lavrov also spoke during a conference call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. According to state media, there was also a telephone conversation with Iran at the level of defense ministers. It was about military cooperation and regional security. Russia and Iran have intensified their relations in recent months. Iran supplies Shahed drones to Russia, which its forces use in Ukraine.
Source: Krone
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