Russian artillery units in Ukraine have received North Korean-made ammunition, according to images that have surfaced online, contradicting Moscow and Pyongyang’s vehement denials of North Korean arms shipments.

The United States and other voices in the West have long said that Russia, which is in dire need of shells and missiles, is getting them from North Korea, a serious violation of UN sanctions against Pyongyang.

But senior officials in Moscow and Pyongyang denied the claims, saying they were baseless or “rumors” spread with a “nefarious” purpose.

The first images of weapons supplied to Russia by North Korea

“Here are the first images of what was delivered: 122mm and 152mm HE-FRAG rounds already distributed to Russian gunners,” wrote the X Ukraine Weapons Tracker platform, the most prominent account tracking military equipment used in war

“These projectiles appear to be relatively new and were manufactured in the 2000s,” the quoted source said.

When asked how he knew these were North Korean shells, Ukraine Weapons Tracker explained:

“The color, packaging, marking style, which are common for North Korean-made munitions. These are probably the first public images of North Korean artillery munitions, so there is simply no reference photo of the same munitions.”

Moscow denied, but thanked for “support”

In recent weeks, several Western voices have criticized the arms trade between Russia and South Korea, but senior officials in the two countries have flatly denied that it exists.

On October 13, the White House blamed Pyongyang for the recent supply of weapons to Russia, calling it a worrying development.

Images of North Korean munitions appeared online on Friday, a day when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calmly said US claims that Moscow was receiving military aid from North Korea were just “rumors”.

However, on Wednesday, during a reception in Pyongyang, Lavrov said that Moscow “deeply” appreciates North Korea’s “unwavering and principled” support for Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine.

Also this week, on Tuesday, the Kremlin said that Western accusations that North Korea supplies Russia with weapons are not based on evidence.

“They talk about it all the time, but they don’t provide any evidence,” Peskov said.

However, the United States also provided arguments in support of this hypothesis. The White House has released a series of satellite images that indicate a shipment from a North Korean munitions depot was loaded onto a Russian-flagged ship and transported by rail to a warehouse near the southern border west of Russia. The delivery took place from September 7 to October 1, the Americans say.

It should also be noted that after the meeting between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin in September, rail traffic along the border between North Korea and Russia increased in the first week of October to the highest level in recent years, which also indicates that Pyongyang is supplying Moscow with weapons.

Korea says rumors spread by ‘hostile forces’

North Korea also denies that it has supplied or plans to supply weapons to Russia, which would violate UN sanctions.

Pyongyang has accused the US and other “hostile forces” of spreading the rumors to “pursue its nefarious political and military goals.”

Moreover, North Korea on Saturday condemned the United States for supplying Ukraine with ATACMS long-range ballistic missiles, saying that any strike against Russia with their help would only hinder peace efforts.

“The United States has finally delivered the ATACMS surface-to-surface missile system to Ukraine, despite deep concern and strong opposition from the international community,” North Korea’s ambassador to Russia Shin Hong Chol said in a statement quoted by KCNA. .

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