North Korea has supplied Russia with at least four million artillery shells over the past 20 months, which are actively being used in the war against Ukraine. A Reuters investigation has confirmed that the deliveries have been taking place on a large and systematic scale – via sea and rail routes – significantly boosting the Russian army's military capabilities.

Source: investigation by Reuters in cooperation with the British analytical centre Open Source Centre (OSC)

Details: OSC analysts tracked 64 trips to the North Korean port of Rajin made between September 2023 and March 2025 by four Russian-flagged container ships – Angara, Maria, Maia-1 and Lady R – to the Russian ports of Vostochny and Dunay. These trips delivered nearly 16,000 containers with North Korean shells and other ammunition, which were then 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."

Illustration: Reuters

Details: In addition to artillery shells, North Korea also transferred multiple-launch rocket systems, self-propelled artillery units and ballistic missiles to Russia

North Korea has become one of the key sources of ammunition for the Russian army. The scale and systematic nature of these supplies highlight 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.

In daily reports from Russian artillery units analysed by Reuters, up to 100% of the ammunition used on certain days 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 152 mm shells, while 100% of its 122 mm rockets were North Korean." 

Details: Ukraine's Defence Intelligence reported that North Korea had supplied Russia with over four million artillery shells since mid-2023, including 122mm and 152mm calibres, which are the backbone of the Russian artillery units' armament.

"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: "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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