Report claims Cold War-era North Korean artillery guns are being used by Russia

North Korea has reportedly transferred an unknown number of D-74 artillery to Russia based on footage released by the Russian state-controlled news outlet RT. 

According to the Ukrainian Military news website, RT published a video news story that featured D-74 artillery guns being used by the 238th Russian Artillery Brigade. 

The 238th Russian Artillery Brigade was operating the artillery guns in the Kurakhove sector in Ukraine but footage of the gun’s tires showed it was of North Korean origin.  

“The Korean origin of this 122-mm cannon was revealed by wheels identical to those previously demonstrated with the D-74 to Kim Jong-Un,” Militarnyi explained. 

Militarnyi also reported that further proof of its claim could be seen in the fact that the soldiers operating the gun were using North Korean OF-472 shells and charges.

“The footage clearly shows the characteristic blue color, as well as the unpainted lead belt and centering depressions, which are typical of North Korean shells,” Militarnyi noted. 

Whether or not North Korea has transferred D-74 artillery guns to Russia isn’t clear, but Russian forces have been spotted using this type of artillery weapon in Ukraine. 

On October 8th, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a promotional wartime video on its Telegram channel stating that an artillery unit was using one of its older Cold War-era D-74 artillery systems.  

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Russian Ministry of Defense

Russian artillery soldiers of the Vostok group were allegedly using the older artillery gun on retreating Ukrainian infantry troops in the south Vuhledar sector in Donetsk Oblast. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @mod_russia

On October 2nd, Russia claimed it captured the Ukrainian stronghold of Vuhledar after months of brutal fighting over the critical defensive town according to a Reuters report.

When the video of Russian troops using the D-74 was captured is not known, but it was a clear indication that Moscow was still employing the older weapons in its invasion of Ukraine.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Russian Ministry of Defense

However, the sighting of a D-74 artillery gun is interesting not only because the system is decades old, but also because the Kremlin may have gotten it. At the time it was believed Russia's D-74s could have likely only come from one of Moscow's allies. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @mod_russia 

According to Militarnyi, the D-74 was an artillery system adopted by the Soviet Union in the 1950s, which would make it one of the oldest artillery guns being utilized by Russia. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Gary Todd, CC0

The Soviet Union developed the D-74 artillery system between 1947 and 1950. It went into serial production in the 1950s but wasn’t fully adopted by the Kremlin until 1956. 

Sporting a massive 52.9 caliber barrel, the D-74 could hit targets up to 24 kilometers or roughly 15 miles away and required a crew of 10 soldiers to man the powerful weapon. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Joel D. Meyerson, Public Domain

The D-74 artillery system is a 122mm howitzer that was all but removed from the Soviet Union’s military arsenal between the 1960s and 1970s and transferred to other nations.  

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Gary Todd, CC0

Most of the Soviet Union’s D-74s were transferred to its Middle Eastern and Asian allies, which makes the gun’s appearance on the battlefield of Ukraine an intriguing mystery.

Photo Credit: Telegram @mod_russia 

Defense News noted that The International Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance 2023 report did not list any D-74 artillery guns in Russia's warehouses and suggested they could have been provided by North Korea. The new evidence presented by Militarnyi suggests Defense News' assumption may have been correct. 

D-74 artillery guns are still used by North Korea, Vietnam, China, and Algeria according to Militarnyi, and some sources suggest they are still in use by several African countries. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Russian Ministry of Defense

Militarnyi noted that North Korea still produces ammunition for the D-74 and provided its analysis of how a D-74 artillery system was deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Russian Ministry of Defense

The Kremlin likely still had a few D-74 artillery guns on hand and decided to use them in Ukraine according to Militarnyi, or the guns were given to Russia from an allied country. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Russian Ministry of Defense

“It is not yet known whether the Russians are using these weapons in other areas,” the Ukrainian Military website added. However, the recent video from RT does show that at least one other D-74 is being used in the Kurakhove sector.

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