Projectiles North Korean howitzers transferred to Russia can reach frontline cities, including Kharkov, which is located just 40 kilometers from the border.
This was reported by URA-Inform with reference to Forbes.
It is noted that the Russian military invaded Ukraine in February 2022, armed with more than a thousand wheeled multiple launch rocket systems. This was one of the largest tactical missile forces in the world.
“But in 33 months of heavy fighting, the Russians have lost at least 400 original multiple launch rocket systems to Ukrainian action. Although the Kremlin has pulled many old launchers out of long-term storage, it has not been able to restore them in sufficient quantities to inflict significant losses on the battlefield and equip new units. Missile stockpiles are also running low,” Forbes analysts noted.
According to them, this is why the MLRS from the DPRK are so important to the Russian military effort. Journalists quote the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation Andrei Kovalenko, who said that the regime in Pyongyang has transferred 100 artillery systems to Russia, including M1989 self-propelled howitzers and M1991 multiple launch rocket systems.
“The M1991 is a powerful new addition to Russia's battered missile corps. Firing 187-pound, 240-millimeter rockets 37 miles away, the M1991 is superior to nearly every artillery system in the Ukrainian inventory. Notable exceptions include the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems,” the experts noted.
They added that the North Korean army hides its M1991s in mountain redoubts along the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas. In wartime, the launchers could bomb Seoul, 37 miles away. The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington noted that the M1991 is “a key means by which North Korea threatens Seoul and South Korea, maintaining its deterrence posture.”
Journalists emphasized that in Russian service, the launchers could hit Ukrainian trenches and fire at Ukrainian howitzers and launchers. Equally alarming is that they could hit frontline cities, including Kharkov, which is located just 25 miles from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
It also became known that in one of the cities of Ukraine, schools are being closed and public events are being cancelled: the authorities have named the reason.
