Ukraine exposes Russia's use of 24 North Korean ballistic missiles
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Russia used at least 24 ballistic missiles, presumably manufactured by North Korea (KN-23/KN-24), during recent missile attacks on Ukraine, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, said in a comment to journalists, Interfax-Ukraine agency reported on Feb. 16.
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Russia carried out at least 12 strikes with these missiles across seven Ukrainian oblasts, including Kirovohrad, Poltava, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk as well as Zaporizhzhya, Kyiv (three attacks), Kharkiv (two attacks) between Dec. 30, 2023, and Feb. 7, 2024, Kostin said. These attacks killed 14 and injured over 70 civilians.
The largest Russian attack with North Korean ballistic missiles occured on Feb. 7. One missile in Kyiv, two missiles each in Pavlohrad and Kharkiv, he said. However, no hits on intended targets were recorded. The deadliest attack took place on Jan. 2, 2024, in Kharkiv, where three individuals were killed, and 64 were injured due to Russia's shelling of the city's central area.
"These missiles have different marking numbers; they have symbols that may indicate Korean origin,” Kostin said.
Read also: Russia hits Selydove with eight missiles, likely North Korean, one fatality reported — police
“The nature and extent of the destruction (the size of the funnel, the striking effect), the peculiarity of the flight trajectory were also different. These missiles have a larger diameter than similar models of Russian and Soviet origin."
Preliminary analysis indicates the missiles are equipped with high-explosive warheads ranging from 500-1000 kg in TNT equivalent, with the possibility of a combined warhead. Their maximum launch range extends up to 650 km. Law enforcement authorities have tentatively determined that Russia launched these strikes from Voronezh Oblast.
The accuracy of the North Korean missiles raises eyebrows, as only two "relatively accurate hits" out of 24 launches are known - the oil refinery in Kremenchuk and the technical territory of the Kanatove airfield - Kostin said. The remaining missiles either exploded in the air, landed on residential neighborhoods in Kharkiv, or struck at distances of several kilometers.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
