US intelligence says Russia is buying huge quantities of ammunition from North Korea, while British defense intelligence agencies point to “limited availability of reconnaissance drones”, which “makes it difficult for Russian operations in Ukraine”. Ukrainian forces say they liberated several towns in the Kherson region, as well as in Kharkov, where one person in the town of the same name and two others in Zolochiv, in the northwest, died.
While in Ukraine Russia will have lost the initiative, Vladimir Putin went to the Vostok 2022 military exercises. They took place in the Far East and showed the Russian president the use of the Iskander-M tactical missile system. During the maneuvers, which counted on the participation or observation of 13 countries, the Russian army mobilized 50,000 soldiers – the same number of Russian soldiers who have died since Feb. 24, according to Ukraine.
Whether you believe the Kiev reports or not – Western sources point to 80,000 casualties, including dead, wounded and deserters – the Russians are also losing equipment and ammunition, especially in recent weeks. Praised for their accuracy, HIMARS’ 16 US-supplied multiple rocket launchers have destroyed successive Russian military targets.
To make up for the losses, Moscow is buying millions of ammunition and missiles from Pyongyang, the New York Times based on declassified documents from the US intelligence services. A source said the material is “for use on the Ukrainian battlefield”. According to the analysis, this is evidence that Russia is experiencing difficulties in supplying the war machine and that this is a result of the economic sanctions imposed on the Putin regime.
For example, Xi Jinping’s China, which has sided with Russia – by not condemning the invasion and reaffirming support for Moscow’s security concerns – will not have tried to sell military equipment or electronics.
Washington has warned Beijing that violating the sanctions would end access to US semiconductor manufacturing technology. While the information passed to the New York daily is sparse, it’s worth remembering that US intelligence agencies were well aware of the military’s plans for the invasion.
Iran on both sides
The US services also recently publicized the Russian military’s difficulties in recruiting soldiers, giving credible information that some detainees were being tricked into participating in the “special military operation” in exchange for pardons. They also told the editors that Iran would provide Russia with hundreds of drones of two types: reconnaissance and surveillance, and combat. The first delivery will have already taken place after initial tests by the Russians were marred by “countless failures,” US officials told the Washington Post.
The curious thing is that Iran has also served the invaded country. How does the . prove site Oryx (from open source analysis), Iranian mortars and ammunition, and Chinese rifles imported from Tehran are at the disposal of Ukrainians.
Source: DN
