Russia used a North Korean missile in a strike on a Ukrainian village that killed five members of the same family, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday. The Russia North Korean missile strike marks the first time such a weapon has been fired in the war in nearly a year.
Russia has deployed North Korean missiles against Ukrainian targets before, but this first use since August points to a fresh stock of weapons Moscow can draw on as it steps up missile attacks, a military source said. Russia pounded Ukraine with dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones in an overnight attack that killed at least nine people, officials said, at a time when the Ukrainian military is grappling with an acute shortage of high-end air defences.
What Happened in Radushne
Zelensky said one missile flattened a home in the village of Radushne, near the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing two parents and three of their children. The fate of the family’s remaining four children remained unclear, as did that of their 18-month-old grandson, he said.
In his evening address, Zelensky said preliminary data indicated the missile that struck Radushne was North Korean. Reuters had reported earlier, citing two sources, that the missile used in the strike was likely North Korean. The Russian defence ministry and Ukrainian Air Force did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the North Korean embassy in London did not answer a call seeking comment outside office hours.
How Investigators Identified the Missile
A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, said Ukrainian radars had picked up two missile tracks characteristic of North Korean KN-23 or KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles flying toward Kryvyi Rih during the attack. Two radar tracks typically indicate four missiles were fired, the source said, adding that other impact sites were not known to him.
For a conclusive assessment, investigators needed to study missile fragments recovered at the site, a process still under way, the source said, while adding that he remained confident the weapon was North Korean.
A Pattern of North Korean Weapons Support
Russia began firing North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 missiles at Ukraine toward the end of 2023. According to the military source, the North Korean missiles carry a larger warhead and have a longer range than Russia’s Iskander short-range ballistic missiles, though they are less accurate. The use of North Korean missiles fits a broader pattern in which Russia has shifted toward more ballistic missiles, such as its Iskander 9M723, which can only be intercepted by US-made Patriot air defence systems, the source said.
North Korea’s military support for Russia has extended well beyond missiles. In 2024, Pyongyang sent 14,000 troops to help Moscow’s forces repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, and has also supplied millions of artillery shells for the Russian war effort. Last week, Zelensky warned that the Kremlin wanted North Korea to send another 30,000 troops, and said Russian preparations were under way to receive them in the Voronezh region.
