Russian troops have already launched at least 24 ballistic missiles of North Korean production over Ukraine. Presumably, these were Kn-23/24.
Russia uses North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine
The Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin said that in the period from December 30, 2023 to February 7, 2024, the enemy struck at least 12 North Korean missiles in seven regions of Ukraine.
We are talking about Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv (three attacks), Kharkiv (two attacks) and cities and villages in Kirovohrad, Poltava, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. These shellings killed 14 civilians and injured more than 70 others.
Andriy Kostin
Prosecutor General of Ukraine
The most massive missile attack by this type of missile was documented on February 7, 2024.
Three cities were attacked: Kyiv (one missile), Pavlograd and Kharkiv (two missiles in each city). In all these cases, hits on possible targets were not recorded, Kostin emphasised.
He added that the attack that caused the most casualties among the civilian population took place on January 2, 2024 in Kharkiv: three people were killed and 64 were injured as a result of shelling in the central part of the city.
What is known about missiles from North Korea
The Prosecutor General said that such missiles have different marking numbers and symbols that may indicate Korean origin.
Also, the nature and scope of the destruction (the size of the funnel, the impressive effect), the peculiarity of the flight path were different. That is, these missiles have a larger diameter than similar models of Russian and Soviet origin.
According to Kostin, such missiles contain high-explosive warheads with a 500-1000 kg capacity in TNT equivalent. The maximum range of the missiles is up to 650 km.
Russia struck them from the territory of the Voronezh region. However, the accuracy of these missiles is questionable.
Of the 24 missiles fired, two relatively accurate hits are known: the refinery in Kremenchuk and the technical area of the Kanatove airfield. The rest of the rockets were hit at a considerable distance from each other — up to several kilometers or more — and either exploded in the air or hit residential areas in Kharkiv, the prosecutor said.
