North Korean missile unit sent to western Russia for potential strikes on Ukraine

Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence reports that a North Korean missile unit, roughly 90 specialists, is being stationed in the Voronezh region of western Russia within the 112th Missile Brigade, equipped with up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers. This move expands a partnership that already saw Russia fire dozens of North Korean rockets at Ukrainian sites after late-2023 and receive a recent shipment of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles.

Analysts say the influx of long-range, high-payload missiles, though less precise than Russian Iskanders, will further challenge Ukraine’s scarce high-end air-defence assets, particularly as winter approaches. The two nations have signed a mutual defence pact and exchanged artillery shells and thousands of troops, with North Korean forces also present in Russia’s Kursk region. Ukrainian officials noted a recent strike that killed five family members in Radushne using a North Korean missile. Both Moscow’s defence ministry and North Korea’s UN mission declined to comment.