WIREDGOV

North Korea has supplied up to 5.8 million artillery rounds to Russia according to the Open Source Centre. This is potentially 40% of Russia’s ammunition, showing the extent to which North Korea’s illicit activity has extended the war.

Analysis conducted by the Open Source Centre (OSC), in conjunction with Reuters, and published on 15 April 2025 indicates that as many as 5.2 million rounds of 152 mm and 122 mm ammunition may have been supplied to Russia by North Korea since August 2023. This commentary will assess the extent of this contribution by estimating Russia’s total artillery expenditure since deliveries began in 2023 and examine how North Korean deliveries have surged to support Russia’s own offensives.

Shell Hunger

In August 2023 Ukraine’s long-awaited counter-offensive was under way, Russian units were prepared and waiting behind dense minefields, armed with anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), loitering munitions, and supported by large groupings of artillery and attack helicopters. This defensive posture proved too lethal for Ukraine’s brigades and the counteroffensive failed to secure any meaningful territorial gains, although it did bring Russia’s own offensive to a temporary halt. The Russian lines had held despite many deficiencies at that time. Amongst many challenges, the Russians lacked artillery ammunition after firing millions themselves, and Ukraine destroying thousands more through long-range strikes. This had constrained Russia’s artillery consumption with the result that ammunition and guns had to be concentrated in priority areas, leaving other areas of the frontline under-resourced.

Russia’s defence industry was expanding to address this need, but at that stage of the war, it could not do anything quickly to properly resource the units on the frontline. The answer to this dilemma soon became clear. President Putin had met with Kim Jong Un in July 2023, and satellite imagery analysed by RUSI from mid-August showed the start of regular shipments between Russia’s Dunai military facility on the coast of the Sea of Japan, and Rajin Port in North Korea. Simultaneously, the 719th Artillery Ammunition facility close to Tikhoretsk underwent a dramatic expansion with new berms added for large quantities of ammunition. This would become the end location for millions of rounds of North Korean artillery ammunition, which have helped keep Russia’s forces in the war. Those new berms were filling up by the time that Ukraine’s offensive came to an end in November 2023, and the war entered a new phase.

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