Russia Seeks North Korean Munitions As Bakhmut Battle Drains Stockpile—U.S.

The Pentagon has reiterated reports that Russia is turning to North Korea for munitions supplies to use in Ukraine.

The comments by a senior U.S. military official on Monday come as Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces continue their focus on the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which is at the center of fierce fighting.

The U.S.-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Monday that Russian forces "are engaged in intense battles for Bakhmut and committing significant resources to maintain the pace."

The think tank had previously said that Russia was investing much of its firepower around the city, which has been hard fought over for months even though it has little strategic value.

Amid claims that Russia is facing dwindling supplies of munitions, the U.S. official was asked about reports that Iran was supplying Russia with weapons, including ballistic missiles and what kind of impact this could have on the battlefield.

The official told the background briefing: "Given this current state of Russia's munitions stockpile, it's not surprising that they continue to look at opportunities to work with countries like Iran and—with North Korea to try to gain additional capability."

The official said that Russia's supply of serviceable ammunition "is rapidly dwindling" and that this would force Moscow to use stocks of what "we would consider degraded conditions."

Russia is likely to struggle to replenish fully serviceable artillery and rocket ammunition through foreign suppliers, increased domestic production and refurbishment, the official said.

"It's not surprising that they're reaching out to countries like Iran and North Korea to try to obtain some more dependable ammunition."

Citing declassified intelligence, The New York Times reported in September that Russia was purchasing artillery shells and rockets from Pyongyang and was seeking to get further equipment from the rogue state.

In November, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said that the U.S. had information that Pyongyang is covertly supplying Russia with a "significant" number of artillery shells.

However, a North Korean Defense Ministry official said that Pyongyang "never had 'arms dealings' with Russia" and has "no plan to do so in the future," calling the allegations rumors that are part of a "hostile attempt" by the U.S. "to tarnish" the secretive country.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

There have been several reports saying that Russia's stock of missiles was depleting quickly although it can still launch significant attacks on Ukrainian targets, and the true state of Moscow's arsenal is unknown.

A report by the U.K.-based investigative organization Conflict Armament Research (CAR) last week said Moscow was still producing cruise missiles with imported components. It had examined the remnants of Kh-101 missiles, which were marked by codes that showed they were produced in 2022.

One of the contributors to the report suggested that Russia may have found a way to get around the sanctions to get missile components—or had a significant pre-war reserves of those parts.