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It Seems Russia Is Getting Anti-Tank Missile Vehicles From North Korea. It Would Be A Major Escalation.
A Bulsae-4 recently appeared near the Ukraine war’s northern front line—and fired six missiles.
An Ukrainian drone spotted something strange near Vovchansk, the main battleground in Russia’s two-month-old offensive in northern Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast. On close inspection, the odd object appeared to be a Bulsae-4—a six-wheeled, missile-armed tank destroyer.
The vehicle “managed to launch six rockets before leaving,” Ukrainian drone operator Kriegsforscher reported.
The Bulsae-4 is uniquely North Korean. It borrows the chassis of a North Korean version of the Russian BTR-80 armored personnel carrier—and adds a bulky top turret with eight anti-tank guided missiles, each likely weighing tens of pounds and ranging several miles.
A Bulsae-4 performs the same mission that Ukraine and Russia’s dismounted anti-tank missile teams perform—defeating enemy tanks—but does it with greater speed, mobility and protection.
For the Russians, the Bulsae-4 meets a growing need. The Russian army went to war in Ukraine in February 2022 with probably several hundred Shturm and Kornet tank destroyers—and quickly lost them to Ukrainian action. Lately, the missile-armed vehicles have been a rare sight along the front line, perhaps because there simply aren’t many left.
We don’t know the details of Russia’s June security pact with North Korea. But it’s possible, even likely, that the terms include significant transfers of North Korean-made vehicles.
From the Russian perspective, it would make sense. It’s no secret the Russians are struggling to build—or recover from long-term storage—enough combat vehicles to make good the roughly 600 vehicles they lose in Ukraine every month.
If the Russian military is getting North Korean vehicles, they may include other types in addition to the Bulsae-4. The Russians are especially hurting for modern tanks and armored personnel carriers, so nobody should be shocked to eventually see ex-Korean Pokpung-ho tanks and M2010 APCs on the Russian side of the front line in Ukraine.
The big question is what South Korea will do. Now that North Korea is openly supporting the Russian war effort, South Korea may consider doing the same for Ukraine. It’s worth noting that South Korea builds some of the best weapons in the world—and in larger numbers than almost any other country, likely including North Korea.
“I hope that S.K. will respond,” Kriegsforscher wrote.