State Department: Russia Buying Millions Of Rockets And Artillery Shells from North Korea

Washington on Monday confirmed reports that Russia is purchasing rockets and artillery shells from North Korea in a bid to bolster its forces as Moscow’s war against Ukraine drags on, TURAN's U.S. correspondent reports.

"The Russian Ministry of Defense is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use in Ukraine," State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told TURAN's Washington correspondent during a daily press briefing.

"This purchase indicates that the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages due in part because of export controls and sanctions – another example of the lines of efforts that we have to hold Russia accountable," Patel said.

The UN currently bars Pyongyang from importing or exporting arms from or to other countries, meaning that the sale of rockets and artillery shells to Russia would violate that arms embargo.

The move came as the Biden administration has decided against designating Russia as a state sponsor of terror. It is a label Ukraine has been pushing for, but Moscow has warned it would damage US-Russian links.

Asked if the administration was considering other means to call for accountability, Patel told TURAN's correspondent that there are "a number of lines of effort that we have at our disposal to continue to hold Russia accountable, our sanctions being one of them."

"And I think just last week we briefed out some metrics on the economic consequences that are directly being put upon Russia’s economy because of their barbaric and unjust actions in Ukraine," he added.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.