Ukrainian drones scored a major hit on Putin’s army during fierce battles on the eastern front. Putin’s troops are attempting to push on and reach the administrative border of the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Throughout June, increased Russian military activity has been evident in the Novopavlivka direction. On June 15, a record 34 clashes were reported on the front as Russian units desperately attempted a breakthrough.
Putin’s army appears to be throwing everything at the assault, including a rarely seen but potent North Korean multiple rocket launcher (MLRS) – the M1991.
The M1991 is a 240 mm calibre MLRS, and is very similar to the Soviet-designed Uragan 220 mm system.
However, it boasts a longer range of up to 60 kilometres and fires larger rockets, increasing its potential lethality.
Ukrainian drone operators spotted an M1991 and moved in for the kill, destroying the prized asset in a deadly precision strike.
Video images show the spectacular moment a drone hits one of the rockets mounted on the launch rails of the M1991 system.
The impact causes the warhead to launch and pierce through the crew compartment, before igniting the remaining ammunition.
The resulting explosion completely destroys the artillery unit, as a ball of flames erupts from the vehicle.
North Korea has proved a staunch Putin ally and provided the Kremlin’s army with significant military aid.
Pyongyang sent at least 9 million rounds of artillery and ammunition in 2024, according to a report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, an international watchdog.
North Korea has also provided Russia with rocket launchers, vehicles, self-propelled guns and at least 100 ballistic missiles.
Furthermore, some 11,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed to Russia’s Kursk region to help Putin’s army retake territory seized by Ukraine last August.
And out of the 11,000 soldiers sent to the frontline, more than 6,000 have lost their lives says the British Defence Intelligence
The deployment accounted for more than 20% of Kim Jong Un’s elite “personal reserve” force, according to Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.
He told a press conference last week: “These are soldiers specially selected based on physical, psychological, and other criteria.
The minister added: “These units have already suffered significant losses.”
It recently emerged that Russia is providing North Korea with intel for Kim Jong Un to produce Shahed kamikaze drones, the same weapons being used by Iran in its attempt to overwhelm Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ defence system.
