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Russia is likely to face increasing problems in production and procurement of the weapons it needs to wage war against Ukraine, so the Kremlin will increasingly rely on its foreign partners to meet its materiel needs.
This is stated in the report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrinform reports.
As noted, the Russian forces extensively rely on the refurbishing stocks of Soviet-era weapons and military equipment, including armored vehicles, to maintain the pace of its offensive operations in Ukraine. “The Russian government will likely have to further mobilize the Russian economy and defense industry and invest in capacity building if the Russian military intends to sustain its current tempo of operations in the medium- to long-term as Russia depletes its finite Soviet stockpiles, but it is unclear if the Russian defense industry will be able to produce enough to sustain the high level of equipment losses that Russian forces suffer in Ukraine even with further economic mobilization,” the analysts say.
ISW has previously assessed that Russia’s efforts to expand its military are unlikely to be sustainable in the medium- to long- term due to anticipated labor shortages and the impact of Western sanctions.
The report also stressed that Russian authorities have recently stepped up military cooperation with North Korea, as evidenced by Russian Security Council head Sergei Shoigu’s September 13 visit to Pyongyang and Putin’s visit in June 2024, when Putin signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement with North Korean President Kim Jong Un.
“Russia’s deepening military partnership with North Korea is emblematic of the relationship that Russia aims to create with Iran, the PRC, and other desired partners. Russia will likely face dwindling weapons and equipment stockpiles and struggle to offset these shortages unless it can circumvent Western sanctions at scale and significantly expand its engagements with foreign partners to obtain sufficient military materiel, component parts, and dual-use items,” the defense analysts believe.
As reported earlier, North Korea continues to supply Russia with short-range ballistic missiles in defiance of sanctions.
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