Russia is deploying North Korean unit armed with dozens of ballistic missiles to attack Ukraine, Reuters reports

A North Korean missile unit is being deployed in Russia's Voronezh Oblast and may ultimately field six launchers and up to 120 ballistic missiles. Russia has already taken delivery of 40 of these missiles from North Korea.

Source: Reuters, citing Andrii Cherniak, a representative of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine

Quote: "A North Korean missile unit has begun deploying to western Russia and could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine, ​an official at Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.

Ukraine is very short of high-end air defences and Russia has tried to exploit this by ‌using more ballistic missiles, which are particularly hard to shoot down.

Russia has fired scores of North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine since late 2023, but the deployment of North Korean missile forces would be an expansion of the already extensive military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang."

Details: Cherniak said Russia plans to deploy a missile unit of about 90 North Korean personnel in Voronezh Oblast as part of the 112th Missile Brigade.

Reuters reported, citing Cherniak, that Pyongyang has already supplied Russia with a new batch of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles and has also sent personnel.

However, the final number of missiles will be agreed upon during negotiations next month. Russia expects to receive 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers.

The exact role the North Korean personnel will play in Russian missile operations, however, is unclear.

Cherniak also confirmed that Russia's late-July strike on Ukraine marked the first recorded use of North Korean ballistic missiles since August 2025. He said the missiles used in the attack came from the latest batch of 40 delivered to Russia by North Korea.

Russia began using North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 missiles to strike Ukraine in late 2023. According to Cherniak, North Korea supplied Russia with 150 missiles between late 2023 and August 2025.

Background:

• On 25 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was preparing for the arrival of another 30,000 troops from North Korea, along with new launchers for ballistic missiles.
• On 30 July, Russia used a North Korean missile to strike a village near Kryvyi Rih, killing six members of the same family.
• Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the president's Sanctions Policy Commissioner, said later that another crater from a North Korean KN-23 ballistic missile had been found, indicating that the Russians had launched at least two such missiles on Ukraine.

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