At least eight were killed and others wounded in a horrific Russian missile strike on Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district overnight. The attack, which hit a residential high-rise to the west of Kyiv’s city center, left approximately ten people missing by morning, with some suspected to be buried under the wreckage.
Ukrainian military officials have determined the weapon deployed in the attack to be a North Korean KN-23 ballistic missile. The missile, said to be more powerful than Russian missiles, has been attributed to the increased military collaboration between Russia and North Korea, especially since the intensification of the Ukraine war in 2022.
The Kremlin has avoided making direct comment on the missile attack, instead saying that “military and military-adjacent” targets were struck. Both Russia and North Korea have denied breaking United Nations arms transfer embargoes, however.
The KN-23, or Hwasong-11A, missiles have a range of 450 km to 690 km, depending on the load. They carry warheads weighing up to a tonne and are more powerful than certain Russian missile systems. Seven ballistic missiles are reported to have been launched by Ukrainian sources, although Kyiv generally described them as Iskander-M/KN-23.
Ever since Russia’s isolation on the global scene, its military collaboration with North Korea has strengthened. North Korea has been accused by Ukraine of providing Russia with extensive artillery shells, rocket systems, and missiles, all of which have been employed against Ukraine since late 2023.
North Korea’s increasing role in the war has been alarming not just in Europe but also in South Korea, as it worries about the effects on its own security.
