These photos were shared by the War Noir account on the X network.
#Russia / #Ukraine: Combatants of #Russian Forces released new video and photos from the Frontline.The unit uses M-46 field gun with what seem to be rare #NorthKorea/#DPRK-made 130mm HE-Frag projectiles (with "For #Sevastopol" writings on the shells). pic.twitter.com/QU8kuA34Cy— War Noir (@war_noir) June 25, 2024
This is the second public reference in the last six months that the russian army in the war against Ukraine uses, in particular, M-46 towed guns, which were put into service with the Soviet army during the reign of Joseph Stalin. It should be noted that these guns were manufactured back in the 1950s. They are rare for the russian occupation forces in Ukraine due to their specific caliber of 130mm as well as the limited supply of ammunition for them.
Read more: The russians Revealed That Ukrainian Forces Destroyed Their Zemledeliye System, Which Is a Rather Rare Event
At the beginning of 2022, the russian troops did not use the M-46 field guns at all. The Military Balance 2023 guide indicated that by the beginning of 2023 there could be up to 350 guns of this type on storage bases in russia.
Apparently, the russians rushed to deconserve the rare M-46 guns due to the high losses of the artillery systems, which they bear due to the effective counter-battery fight that the Ukrainian military conduct on the battlefield.
It seems that due to the appearance of a large number of these guns in the russians, they may have problems with ammunition for them. The use of 130 mm projectiles was not a standard for the russian army, so it is unlikely that the corresponding projectiles were mass-produced at the facilities of the russian defense industry.
It is quite likely that in this case, deliveries of 130-mm projectiles from North Korea could be the only solution to the problem of the russians with ammunition for M-46 guns. It should be noted that as of the beginning of last year, such guns were still in service with the North Korean army.
From this, we can conclude that it is critically important for the russians to close their own problems, which they have with the availability of scarce types of projectiles, which are currently not manufactured in russia, for the sake of supplies from the DPRK
As Defense Express reported, Possibly iranian 203mm Artillery Shells Found in russian Forces.
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