It is believed that North Korea has sent up to three million shells to Russia, helping to give it a major advantage over Ukrainian forces who have complained of a lack of supplies from their Western allies.
Most of North Korea’s shells have been sent to Russia by ship, although NK Pro said that they may now have shifted onto its railway system.
“It also cannot be ruled out that weapons are being transferred to Russia by air or by rail,” it said.
As well as waiting for more arms supplies from the West, Ukrainian soldiers have also complained about some of the equipment given to them last year.
An unnamed Ukrainian soldier said that Germany-made Leopard-2 tanks may be mobile and equipped with powerful weapons but they need too much maintenance and have a weakness at the front of their armour.
“Between the turret and the hull, the upper and lower parts of the tank, there is a gap that urgently needs to be closed,” the tank driver told the Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
Last month, Ukraine’s forces retreated from the destroyed town of Avdiivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region and reports have now said that Russian forces are concentrating their fire on Chasiv Yar, five miles to the west of Bakhmut.
But, although Ukrainian forces are on the back foot across the front line in Donbas, they have scored some successes against Russia’s air force.
Last week, one of Russia’s A-50 spy planes crashed near the Sea of Azov, shot down either by Russian air defence missiles or a Ukrainian missile. The UK Ministry of Defence has now said that Russia may reduce its use of the spy plane.
“This is a capability gap Russia can ill afford over the contested airspace of eastern and southern Ukraine,” it said.