N.Korean Missiles Used in Russia's Ukraine Strike for First Time This Year
By Reuters | 30 Jul, 2026

Russian deployment of N. Korean missiles after a lengthy gap suggests a fresh stock made available to Moscow.

Emergency personnel work following a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a location given as Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, in this handout image released on July 30, 2026. State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk Region/Handout via REUTERS

A Russian overnight attack that killed a family near the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih likely used a North Korean missile, two sources said, in what would be the first time such a weapon had been fired in the war in nearly a year.

Russia has fired North Korean missiles at Ukrainian targets before, but their deployment after a lengthy gap points to a fresh stock of weapons Moscow can draw on as it intensifies missile attacks on its neighbour, one of the sources added.

Russia pounded Ukraine with dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones overnight, killing eight people, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, decrying shortages of air defence supplies and urging allies to help.

The military source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information, said August 8, 2025 was the last time that Ukraine confirmed a Russian strike using a North Korean missile.

Russia began firing North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles at Ukraine towards the end of 2023.

North Korea has been a close ally of Russia for much of the conflict in Ukraine, providing thousands of troops and millions of artillery shells for the war effort in addition to the missiles.

The Ukrainian air force did not immediately respond to a written response for comment.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth in London and Lizzie Johnson in Kyiv; editing by Mike Collett-White)