(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Russia is now firing more ballistic missiles into Kyiv than it can produce domestically, forcing the Kremlin to rely on stockpiles from North Korea to maintain its bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
The assessment comes from Shaun Pinner, a former British Army soldier and journalist residing in Ukraine, who warns that the shortage of air defence interceptors is creating a perilous situation for civilians. Speaking on Times Radio’s ‘Frontline’, Pinner stated, “Russia’s now firing more ballistics into Kyiv than it actually produces domestically, which is why it’s now using North Korean stock piles to keep that momentum up.”
The situation in the capital remains extremely tense, with barrages striking every three to four days. Pinner described arriving first at the scene of a recent impact where a multi-storey building was left as an inferno, noting that such incidents are becoming a daily occurrence. “We beat all the emergency services there and there was just nobody there. Just a disorientated night guard who was telling us people were in the building,” he said. Footage filmed by Pinner captured the shock of the explosions, showing even a seasoned veteran ducking for cover as missiles struck just over a kilometre away with no audible air defence response.
The reliance on Pyongyang extends beyond missile hardware to manpower. Pinner highlighted that North Korea has already supplied 30,000 regular troops to support the Russian war effort, with plans underway to deploy an additional 30,000. He contextualised the scale by suggesting that 60,000 North Korean fighters likely represents a larger combat force than the current teeth of the British armed forces.
Amid this escalation, the former soldier observed that the outside world fails to grasp Russia’s deliberate strategy to exhaust Ukraine’s Patriot interceptor stocks. He noted that despite reports of a shifting tide, there is no evidence on the front lines of a change in attitude from the administration of Donald Trump, who recently froze 400 million dollars (£315 million) in aid until 2029 and walked back on commitments regarding air defence licences.
Furthermore, an exclusive report in the Kyiv Independent claims that Ukraine foresaw the interceptor shortage but was refused licences to produce the Patriot systems domestically by the previous Biden administration. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent pleas for a goodwill gesture of interceptors to survive the winter were also rejected. Consequently, Ukrainian commanders are now faced with the grim choice of which cities to defend.
As Ukraine looks inward following domestic protests over military reforms, the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is preparing for a protracted war. Pinner warned that Russia is discussing a mass mobilisation of another half a million troops after September. This is combined with a deliberate campaign to make front-line cities like Kherson uninhabitable, where footage recently emerged of a market seller being hunted by a first-person view drone. Pinner said such attacks on civilians, which have been ongoing for over a year, amount to a siege strategy using new warfare technology. “When can we start using the G word?” Pinner asked, pointing to the genocidal rhetoric of the Russian dictator, who last week declared that western Ukraine is not Ukrainian.
Despite a recent Ukrainian focus on striking logistics hubs and bringing the war home to Russia, which has boosted morale, the immediate outlook remains gloomy. “It’s going to be very difficult and it’s quite gloomy at the moment to think there’s nothing in place after four and a half years,” Pinner concluded.
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