Fewer Shells, Worse Quality: DPRK Cuts Ammunition Supplies to Russia

North Korea has more than halved the supply of artillery ammunition to Russia in 2025.

This was reported by the Deputy Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Vadym Skibitskyi in an interview with Reuters.

The reason for this was the depletion of Pyongyang’s ammunition stocks.

According to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, in 2023-2024, the DPRK transferred about 6.5 million artillery shells to Russia, which allowed the Kremlin to maintain a high intensity of fire at the front.

However, this year, the volume of supplies has significantly decreased.

Skibitskyi noted that in September 2025, no batch of shells from North Korea was recorded.

And in October, there were only limited deliveries. At the same time, about half of the ammunition was so outdated that it needed to be modernized at Russian factories.