Moscow gave these guns to friendly countries decades ago. Their appearance on the battlefield could indicate a possible import of these systems from North Korea.
The Russian army is likely shelling Ukrainian positions in the Donetsk region with a 122mm D-74 cannon, developed in the Soviet Union in the late 1940s. However, what was unexpected was not even the age of the weapon, but the fact that the D-74 should not be in service in Russia, because Moscow gave them to Vietnam and China in the middle of the last century. Business Insider reported this on Monday, October 14.
“The most surprising thing is that the D-74 was never supposed to be in Russian service. The Soviet Union started producing them in 1955, but they were quickly replaced by another gun, the M-46, which fired 130 mm ammunition in a When the D-74 fell out of fashion, Moscow began exporting guns to countries friendly to the Soviet Union, such as Vietnam and China, and is believed to have donated its entire arsenal,” said the newspaper.
Thus, the appearance of Russian D-74 in Donetsk may indicate a possible import of these systems, or at least ammunition, from North Korea, which also stores stockpiles of D-74 , retired US Marine Lt. Col. Michael. Purcell told Business Insider.
Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at the Washington think tank Defense Priorities, told the publication that Russia could show it can amass massive resources under Western sanctions:
“Given the focus on Russia’s losses over the past six weeks, publicizing the use of the D-74 could be Russia’s way of demonstrating its staying power and ability to continue the fight in the future.”
At the same time, Kavanagh said that there may still be some D-74s left in Russia, but this shows how tense the situation in the Russian Federation is with weapons stockpiles.
Let’s recall that today President Vladimir Zelensky said that Ukrainian intelligence has data indicating North Korea’s participation in the war against Ukraine on the side of Russia.
Earlier, The Washington Post reported that thousands of North Korean troops are training in Russia. We are talking about “several thousand” North Korean infantrymen who could be on the front lines by the end of this year.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.