‘Desperate’ Putin could be gearing up to buy ‘millions’ of North Korean shells and rockets, White House says

Russia is likely on its way to buy “literally millions” of artillery shells and rockets from North Korea, the White House said on Tuesday, stating that Moscow’s latest shopping of rockets and shells from Pyongyang shows how desperate Vladimir Putin is becoming.

Russia "is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use in Ukraine," US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a news briefing.

However, there are “no indications that the purchase has been completed” by Russia and “certainly no indications that those weapons are being used inside of Ukraine”, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.

Mr Kirby said that the White House is sensing that the “potential purchase” by Moscow could “include literally millions of rounds, rockets and artillery shells from North Korea”.

“That’s what our information gives us - it could be on that scale,” the top US official said, adding that they do not have any indication about whether the purchase has actually occurred yet.

“...It’s difficult to say what it’s actually going to end up looking like," Mr Kirby added.

Russia’s likely weapons purchase from its long-time Cold war ally was "just another indication of how desperate Putin’s becoming”, the White House national security spokesperson said.

He added that it is an indication of “how much his [Mr Putin] defense industrial establishment is suffering as a result of this war and the degree of desperation".

Additional Russian purchases of North Korean military equipment were expected, US officials have said.

This comes within a day of a report confirming the purchases by Russia uncovered from the newly declassified US intelligence files was published by the New York Times.

The report was rejected by Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia.

"I haven’t heard it and I think that’s another fake being circulated around," the top Russian envoy told reporters on Tuesday.

Washington maintains that the arms and ammunition purchase by Russia will violate the sanctions imposed by the UN on North Korea under which the global body’s member states are prohibited from purchasing arms from the hermit kingdom.

"Particularly concerning here is that a permanent member of the Security Council is flouting these measures," Mr Patel said, referring to Russia.

Experts and analysts monitoring the Russian invasion of Ukraine have stated that the punitive international sanctions imposed on Moscow are causing the country to bleed and hinder its ability to restock its vehicles and weapons destroyed in the course of war which has entered its seventh month.

Russia is also reported to be suffering heavy losses in Ukraine’s southern regions where soldiers sent by Kyiv have bolstered their offensive against Russian troops in counter attack.

Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that his fighters shot down five Russian cruise missiles on Tuesday, of which most were targeted in the south.

“Five out of six Russian Kh-101 missiles were shot down only in the first half of the day. This is an expensive loss for Russia - and it saved many Ukrainian lives,” Mr Zelensky said in an update from the battle’s frontlines late on Tuesday.

Four of these missiles, Mr Zelensky said, were shot down by servicemen of the air command south.

Russian fighters in Ukraine have continued to sustain heavy losses in the past 24 hours and 83 soldiers have been killed, Kyiv’s military officials said in a war update.