Ukrainian drones hit a military depot in Russia on September 18 and destroyed North Korean missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and air defenses, according to reports. More than 100 Ukrainian UAVs were used to strike the missile depot in Toropets,

Yet according to the head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency GUR, Kyrylo Budanov, the Kremlin's most important ally during the war isn't economically and militarily powerful China, but North Korea, an isolated pariah state whose economy has been damaged by decades of sanctions.

North Korea sent its foreign minister to Russia for her second trip in less than a year to the major backer of Kim Jong Un’s regime. The move comes as Pyongyang readies for a parliamentary meeting that will likely approve measures that raise tensions with South Korea.

North Korea launched several ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, the isolated regime's second launch in less than a week as tensions ramp up on the Korean Peninsula.

A senior Russian official visited Iran on Tuesday, likely to bolster missile supplies, experts said. His visit came days after a trip to North Korea.

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Iran on an unannounced visit just days after he held talks in Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.