Russia needs foreign troops if it expects to keep up its war effort in Ukraine through next year. It needs foreign equipment, too. As the wider war on Ukraine grinds toward its fourth year, the stocks of old Cold War weaponry the Kremlin depends on to equip its regiments are running dangerously low.

A photo has emerged showing examples of a North Korean-made self-propelled artillery system under transport in Russia, the clearest suggestion so far that Pyongyang is also now providing Moscow with these kinds of heavyweight,