FM Kuleba calls on West to step up artillery aid, saying Pyongyang currently outpacing Kyiv’s allies

Russia is “clearly ahead” of Ukraine in the supply of artillery ammunition, in particular because Moscow receives it from North Korea, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with Bild on Jan. 24.

Read also: North Korea now aiding overstretched Russia, stepping into role as top weapons provider — intel head

“No matter how absurd it may sound, it seems that North Korea is a more effective partner for Russia than our friends who supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition,” he said.

“This is ridiculous and it has to change.”

Ukraine appreciates everything it receives from its international partners, but “the scale of the war requires more,” as the defense of the front line without sufficient artillery ammunition costs the lives of many Ukrainian soldiers, said the diplomat.

Read also: North Korea crossed ‘red line’ by supplying missiles to Russia — Zelenskyy

The Ukrainian official also called on Western partners to stop blaming each other for not increasing production fast enough.

Although Ukraine has significantly increased its production and will continue to do so, the Western defense industry is not able to produce enough artillery ammunition.

“This does not meet either the needs of the war in Ukraine or the defense needs of your own countries,” Kuleba stated.

NATO signed a contract earlier for the supply of 155-mm artillery shells worth a total of 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). Some of them are to be transferred to Ukraine, reported Reuters on Jan. 23.

Ammunition for Ukraine: what is known

In early May 2023, the EU Council supported an initiative to provide Ukraine with one million artillery shells by the end of 2023.

The European Defense Agency signed the first contracts for the joint purchase of artillery shells for the Ukrainian military on Sept. 5.

Read also: Ties with EU, securing financial and military aid are Ukraine’s most pressing needs – Zelenskyy

European Union diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said during a press conference on Nov. 13 that EU countries may not be able to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells by the end of 2023, as previously planned.

The European Union completed the first part of the supply plan. As part of this stage, Ukraine received shells that were already in the arsenals of the bloc’s member states. In total, about 300,000 artillery shells were delivered.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Nov. 29 that the European Union would provide Ukraine with the previously promised one million rounds of ammunition, but the timing of the delivery remained unclear.

European Commission spokesperson Johanna Bernsel said during a briefing in Brussels on Jan. 11 that the European Union will be able to produce one million rounds of ammunition for Ukraine by the end of winter 2024.

North Korea’s supply of ammunition to Russia

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un visited Russia in September 2023. He met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and called the war against Ukraine a “holy struggle.”

According to The Economist, Pyongyang is transferring artillery shells and Katyusha missiles to Moscow.

South Korea reported that since August 2023 the DPRK has sent more than a million artillery shells to Russia.

Read also: UK sends UN experts photos of alleged North Korean missile and shell shipments to Russia

The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, said that North Korea is the largest supplier of weapons to Russia.

This allowed Russia to “take a little breather,” and without the DPRK’s help, the situation would have been catastrophic for the aggressor.

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