Zelensky says Russia using North Korean missiles to strike Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of utilizing ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea in its attacks on Ukrainian cities, including a recent deadly strike in Zaporizhzhia. On August 10-11, 2026, an overnight barrage on Zaporizhzhia, which Zelenskyy stated included North Korean ballistic missiles, resulted in six fatalities and nineteen injuries. He described this as a "vicious attack" deliberately aimed at civilian infrastructure.

These allegations are consistent with earlier findings from the United Nations and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, which, through debris analysis, confirmed the presence of North Korean-made missiles in Ukraine following strikes in late 2023 and early 2024. Specifically, missile remnants from an attack on Kharkiv on January 2, 2024, were identified as North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missiles, a clear violation of UN sanctions against Pyongyang. Russia's increasing use of these weapons is believed to address its own ammunition shortages and exploit Ukraine's critical lack of advanced air defense systems.

Further escalating the concerns, Ukrainian military intelligence indicates that North Korea has begun deploying a missile unit, potentially equipped with up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers, to western Russia for operations against Ukraine. This development, alongside previously reported troop deployments and a mutual defense pact between Russia and North Korea, highlights a deepening military alliance. Zelenskyy has cautioned that the combat experience gained by North Korea through this collaboration poses a growing threat to other nations in the region.