russia has begun launching ballistic missiles at Ukraine that were provided by North Korea, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified U.S. intelligence information, reports UNN citing the Washington Post.
The media outlet notes that Russia's previously unreported deployment of North Korean ballistic missiles indicates North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's growing support for Moscow's military efforts.
It also shows Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to lean on rogue nations to make up for deficiencies in his own arsenal as the war in Ukraine approaches its third calendar year.
"russia is becoming increasingly isolated on the world stage and is forced to seek military equipment from like-minded states," said the U.S. official, who partly attributed russia's limited capabilities to sanctions imposed by Washington.
"Our information indicates that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has recently provided ballistic missile launchers and several dozen ballistic missiles to Russia, and Russia has launched several ballistic missiles at Ukraine," the official said.
A second official said the North Korean projectiles were short-range ballistic missiles that Moscow fired in late December and early January.
Michael Coffman, a military analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said russia's military efforts are bolstered by arms imports.
"Russia's mobilized defense industry is now producing significantly more missiles per month than it was before the war, but this is still insufficient compared to its needs and cannot replace the stockpile of missiles it has used up in the past two years," he said. "This means that Russia would benefit from access to additional stockpiles from countries like North Korea.
While officials said Pyongyang has provided "several dozen ballistic missiles" so far, it is unclear how many weapons North Korea has sent or how many it plans to provide in the coming months.
In November, South Korea accused North Korea of supplying several types of missiles to Russia, including anti-tank missiles, portable anti-aircraft missiles, ballistic missiles and rifles, rocket launchers, mortars and shells.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Russia began receiving deliveries of North Korean ballistic missiles a few weeks ago.