由于贸易伙伴寥寥无几，军械库空空如也，克里姆林宫被迫转向朝鲜储备重要的燃料供应其正在进行的乌克兰战争根据最近解密的美国情报报告。
一名美国官员告诉美国广播公司新闻，俄罗斯国防部“正在”从所谓的隐士王国购买“数百万枚火箭和炮弹”，这些购买表明莫斯科军队“继续遭受乌克兰严重的供应短缺，部分原因是出口管制和制裁。”
该官员补充说，情报界评估这可能会成为一种模式的一部分，俄罗斯寻求“购买更多的朝鲜军事装备”(这两个国家都没有对报告作出回应。)
拜登政府吹捧这一发展，首先由《纽约时报》，作为国际制裁的证据——尽管专家称之为负面的连锁反应事实证明，尽管基辅呼吁美国将俄罗斯定性为支持恐怖主义的国家，对俄罗斯实施额外的惩罚，但美国还是取得了成功。
白宫新闻秘书郭佳欣·让-皮埃尔周二表示:“我们的制裁、出口管制以及进一步将俄罗斯从全球经济中孤立出来的努力正在产生重大影响。”。"我们正在切断俄罗斯的军事供应链。"
虽然朝鲜不会向莫斯科提供最尖端的军事技术，但它在苏联时期的库存可以填补一个紧迫的空白，为俄罗斯军队补充与同一时期开发的武器系统兼容的炮弹，这是它难以供应的弹药。
五角大楼发言人准将将军帕特·赖德周二表示:“他们向朝鲜伸出援手的事实表明，他们在维持战线上面临一些挑战。”。
赖德补充说，武器销售的情报已经解密，因此国际社会和美国公众可以更好地“了解俄罗斯在继续在乌克兰开展活动时发现自己的处境。”
到目前为止，美国官员几乎没有透露他们打算采取什么行动来阻止或惩罚俄罗斯从朝鲜购买武器。
美国国务院首席副发言人韦丹特·帕特尔(Vedant Patel)表示，这笔交易明显违反了联合国安理会禁止从朝鲜采购武器的多项决议，但他拒绝透露美国是否计划向这个政府间组织提出这一问题，或采取其他措施。
帕特尔说:“尽管所有联合国制裁都是严重违反，但我认为这里特别令人担忧的是，安理会的一个常任理事国正在实施这些措施，”他指的是俄罗斯在安理会中的强大地位。
Russian President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian General Staff, oversees the 'Vostok-2022' military exercises at the Sergeevskyi training ground outside Ussuriysk, Russia, Sept. 6, 2022.
米哈伊尔·克利门蒂耶夫/斯普特尼克
国家安全委员会发言人约翰·柯比补充说，没有迹象表明购买已经完成，也没有迹象表明来自朝鲜的任何武器目前正在乌克兰的战场上使用。
平壤并不是俄罗斯最近几周寻求促成武器交易的唯一贱民。上个月，莫斯科从伊朗获得了无人机。一名国防部官员告诉美国广播公司新闻，虽然克里姆林宫可能会寻求进口数百辆，但首批货物表现不佳，经历了“多次失败”
来自朝鲜和伊朗的武器可能不会对乌克兰局势产生重大影响，但美国官员正在密切关注是否会有一个更重要的力量来帮助俄罗斯:中国。
北京和莫斯科保持着密切的贸易和防务联系，俄罗斯入侵乌克兰引发了人们对两国可能结成军事联盟的担忧。(中国官方在这场冲突中保持中立。)美国曾警告称，如果中国向莫斯科出售军用物资，将会面临严重后果，但迄今为止，没有证据表明中国违反了出口管制。
“至于俄罗斯可能会问中国什么，我没有任何信息可以从讲台上提供，”五角大楼发言人赖德说，“除了说，在战略竞争的时代，我们将继续密切关注俄罗斯和中国。”
Russia is buying 'millions of rockets and artillery' from North Korea for its Ukraine invasion: US
With few trade partners and an empty armory, the Kremlin is being forced to turn to North Korea to stock up on vital supplies to fuelits ongoing war in Ukraine, according to a recently declassified U.S. intelligence report.
A U.S. official told ABC News that Russia's Ministry of Defense was "in the process" of buying "millions of rockets and artillery shells" from the so-called Hermit Kingdom and that the purchases were an indication Moscow's military "continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions."
The official added that the intelligence community assessed it would likely become part of a pattern, with Russia seeking "to purchase additional North Korean military equipment going forward." (Neither country has yet responded to the report.)
The Biden administration touted the development, first reported byThe New York Times, as evidence that international sanctions -- despite what expertshave called some adverse ripple effectsin the U.S. -- were proving successful even as the White House resisted Kyiv's calls to impose additional penalties against Russia by branding it a state sponsor of terrorism.
"Our sanctions, export controls and efforts to further isolate Russia from the global economy are having a significant impact," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. "We are choking off Russia's military supply chains."
While North Korea wouldn't be providing Moscow with the most cutting-edge military technology, its Soviet-era stockpiles could fill a pressing niche by restocking Russian forces with artillery shells compatible with its weapon systems developed during the same timeframe -- ammunition it is struggling to supply.
"The fact that they're reaching out to North Korea is a sign that that they're having some challenges on the sustainment front," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday.
Ryder added that the intelligence on the weapons sale was declassified so the international community and the American public could better "understand the situation that Russia finds itself as they again continue to wage their campaign in Ukraine."
So far, American officials have released little information about what -- if any -- action they intend to take to hinder or penalize Russia's purchases from North Korea.
The State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, said that the sale was a clear violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit the procurement of arms from North Korea, but he declined to say whether the U.S. planned to raise the issue to the intergovernmental organization or take other steps.
"While all U.N. sanctions are a serious violation, I think particularly concerning here is that a permanent member of the Security Council is floating these measures," Patel said, referring to Russia's powerful status within the body.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby added the caveat that there was no indication that the purchase had been completed or that any arms from North Korea were currently being used on battlefields in Ukraine.
Pyongyang isn't the only pariah Russia has sought to broker an arms deal with in recent weeks. Last month, Moscow acquired drones from Iran. A Department of Defense official told ABC News that while the Kremlin will likely seek to import several hundred more, the initial shipment performed poorly, experiencing "numerous failures."
Weapons from North Korea and Iran might not significantly move the needle in Ukraine, but U.S. officials are watching carefully to see if a much more significant power comes to Russia's aid: China.
Beijing and Moscow retain close trade and defense ties, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine sparked concern that the two could forge a military alliance. (China officially remains neutral on the conflict.) The U.S. has warned of intense consequences for China should it sell Moscow military supplies, but so far, there's no evidence it has violated export controls.
"In terms of what Russia may be asking of China or not, I don't have any information to provide from the podium on that," Pentagon spokesman Ryder said, "other than to say that, in an era of strategic competition, we'll continue to keep a very close eye on Russia and China."
