 Transnistria and Moldova, Russia's new front of escalation in Europe. The United States of America supports the sovereignty of Moldova and closely monitors the developments surrounding the so-called Transnistria, says U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. Miller was asked to comment on appeal of Transnistria to Russia with a request for protection from Moldova. The speaker noted that the U.S. is monitoring the actions of Russia and Transnistria as Moscow plays an increasingly aggressive and destabilizing role in Europe. The United States firmly supports Moldova's sovereignty and territory within internationally recognized borders, he added. Earlier, the media reported that the deputies of Transnistria were to ask the Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the Russian Federation at the Congress. However, this never happened. The so-called Pridnestrovian-Moldavian Republic simply called on Russia to protect them from Moldova. In particular, they addressed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the European Parliament, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, urging them to influence the leadership of Moldova to return to adequate dialogue and cease violations of the rights and freedoms of the residents of Transnistria. Andrey Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, said in a comment to RBC Ukraine that such a result is a failure for Russia. The representative of the military intelligence notes that the active disinformation campaign regarding Transnistria's plans to ask Vladimir Putin for a session to the Russian Federation indicates that an interested party was involved. When we talk about Moldova and Ukraine, it is clear who this party is. Yusov adds. Half of Russia's North Korea-made artillery shells don't work. Half of more than a million artillery shells shipped to Russia from North Korea are faulty. A senior Ukrainian defense official has said, according to Newsweek, Vadim Skibitskyi, number two at Ukraine's main intelligence directorate, the Defense Intelligence Agency also known as the GUR, said the Kremlin had turned to its reclusive Asian neighbour to complement Russia's limited arms production but with mixed results. Today, if we take the available statistical data, the Russians have already imported 1.5 million rounds of ammunition from the DPRK, Skibitskyi said, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea. But these munitions are from the 70s and 80s. Half of them do not function and the rest require either restoration or inspection before use. The GUR official said, citing Ukraine's latest assessment, Kim Jong-un benefits from giving away old munitions while demanding an increase in production in North Korea's own ammunition plants. According to Skibitskyi, Pyongyang was also able to ask Moscow for certain technologies in return, including those that would facilitate its missile and submarine development, he said. The Ukrainian official said North Korea was undoubtedly requesting technologies related to its nuclear weapons programme, a development that would add further uncertainties to already sky-high tensions on the Korean peninsula. Aside from artillery shells, Russia continues to produce its own rockets while firing North Korean-made ballistic missiles, too, said Skibitskyi. The Russian defence industry was still struggling to overcome its lack of access to foreign-made electronic components, largely cut off by Western sanctions, which is impacting the quality of the missiles used by Russia's forces, the GUR official said. Ukraine prepares military surprise for Russia, new drones may strike deep into Russian territory. Ukraine will produce thousands of long-range UAVs capable of striking deep into Russian territory in 2024 and already has up to 10 companies producing drones that can reach Moscow and St. Petersburg. Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov stated this in an interview with the Reuters news agency. The category of long-range kamikaze drones with a flight range of 300, 500, 700 and 1,000 kilometres is growing. Two years ago, such a category did not exist at all, he said. Unlike Russia, where the state dominates drone production in Ukraine, the vast majority of manufacturers are private. According to Fedorov, only one out of 10 companies whose drones can fly to Moscow and St. Petersburg is state-owned. Fedorov agrees with the opinion of the head of Ukrainian military intelligence Kirill Budenov that Kyiv has achieved a certain parity with Moscow in the production of long-range UAVs. We should act in an anti-bureaucratic way. This is the essence of a breakthrough in the technology war. We are going to continue to rely on this to work in this direction because technology can really save us, says the Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology of Ukraine. According to Fedorov, more than 300,000 drones of various types were contracted last year and more than 100,000 deployed to the front.