- Russian forces appear to be operating North Korean-made anti-tank missile vehicles near Ukraine.
- Images shared on Telegram appear to show the Bulsae-4 vehicle operating around the Kharkiv region.
Russian forces appear to have begun using a North Korean anti-tank guided missile vehicle near the border with Ukraine.
An image taken by a Ukrainian drone and shared on Telegram appears to show a Bulsae-4 missile vehicle operating near Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.
If confirmed, this would be the first known armored vehicle that North Korea has provided to Russia — which would represent a major escalation in the countries' military relationship.
Vitalii Sarantsev, a spokesperson for the Kharkiv regional military command, said in an interview with Suspilne Kharkiv that he could not confirm whether the reports that the Bulsae-4 was operating in the region were accurate.
"This information is currently being checked," he said.
Business Insider was unable to independently verify the reports.
The Bulsae-4
The Bulsae-4 uses a non-line-of-sight missile system, meaning it can strike targets without a direct line of sight.
The system — which is mounted on a six-wheeled armored vehicle — can be equipped with eight guided missiles, each with an estimated range of 10 km to 25 km, per defense news site Army Recognition.
The missiles are fitted with a camera that sends video footage to the operators via a fiber-optic cable, allowing them to maneuver the missiles around obstacles and hit targets behind cover, Army Recognition says.
The Bulsae-4 would provide a welcome boost to Russia's dwindling supply of combat vehicles and anti-tank missile systems.
Russia entered the war with a limited number of these missile systems, and it has already lost more than 40 of them on the battlefield, according to Oryx, an open-source conflict monitor.
The Bulsae-4's apparent arrival in Russia comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a mutual defense pact back in June.
The new agreement set conditions for one country to assist the other should it be attacked, marking their closest ties since the Cold War.
North Korea has also sent significant amounts of munitions to Russia over the course of the conflict in Ukraine, South Korea's National Intelligence Service has said.
The Associated Press previously reported that the agency believed Pyongyang had sent more than 1 million artillery shells to Russia between August and November last year.