This is an unexpected consequence of the so-called “high intensity” war in which the Russians and Ukrainians have been engaged since February 24 and the launch of the “special military operation” by Vladimir Putin. Engaged in a fight of attrition such as Europe has not known since the Second World War, Moscow and kyiv are faced with the threat of a shortage of certain equipment and no longer hesitate, according to the military and the intelligence services Westerners, to appeal to countries like North Korea, Iran or Pakistan to bail out their arsenals.
According to information declassified by Washington and revealed on Tuesday, September 6 by the New York TimesRussia would be like this “procuring millions of rockets and artillery shells” from North Korea to supply its troops in Ukraine, a US official said. If no proof or details have been given on the materials provided, Pyongyang has the capacity to produce 152 mm shells, one of the calibers used by the Russian forces, as well as projectiles for the TOS-1 multiple rocket launchers, whose presence on the Ukrainian front is documented.
In mid-July, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan also assured that Washington had information indicating that Tehran “getting ready[ait] to supply Russia with up to several hundred drones, in an expedited timeframe”. ” Russian transport planes embarked drones at an airfield in Iran and then flew to Russia for several days in August.Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder confirmed on August 30.
According to military experts, the machines sent by Tehran could be ground attack drones, in particular the Shahed-129, a machine which can fly up to 24 hours in a row and is considered a competitor of the American Predator, or the Mohajer-6, a smaller flying object, capable of carrying up to four munitions. According to the US Department of Defense, these drones have not yet been sent to the front and will experience “many failures”, that the Russians would try to solve. In fact, no image has yet shown these materials in action above Ukrainian soil.
“A lot of things are not made public”
The Russian army is not alone in resorting to confusing supplies. According to documents published on August 30 by the Ukrainian site @UAWeapons, which tracks the weapons used on the front by the two belligerents, the forces of kyiv fire today on the Russians with shells of Pakistani manufacture. Images and videos recovered from the front and posted on social networks show Ukrainian soldiers handling 122 mm projectiles bearing the inscription Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), which is none other than the main manufacturer of weapons in Islamabad.
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