Two of the five missiles Russia launched at Kharkiv early on Feb. 7 were made in North Korea, said Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the Kharkiv Oblast police.
Russia launched another large-scale attack against Ukraine in the morning, targeting several oblasts. In Kharkiv, the strikes hit industrial facilities, wounding three people, according to local officials.
“Metal fragments of ballistic missiles were collected by explosives experts on the territory of the industrial zone. According to preliminary conclusions of specialists, these are North Korean Hwasong-11Ga (KN-23) missiles,” Bolvinov said on Facebook.
Pyongyang has reportedly provided Moscow with at least 1 million shells, as well as short-range ballistic missiles and other weaponry. The first evidence that Russia used North Korean missiles in attacks against Ukraine, including Kharkiv, appeared in early January.
The Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported earlier the same day that Russian troops used S-300 Soviet-era missiles to carry out the strike, according to preliminary data.
Ukrainian officials sometimes refute their initial reports on the type of weaponry used in Russian strikes after arms fragments are more thoroughly investigated.
The attack on Kharkiv targeted several civilian enterprises, injuring three employees aged between 52 and 64, according to prosecutors.
The U.S. and nearly 50 countries condemned the transfer and the reported use of North Korean missiles by Russia, calling for an immediate end to the delivery of weapons from Pyongyang to Moscow.
South Korea warned on Jan. 11 that its northern neighbor may also sell Russia new types of tactical guided missiles as military cooperation between the two countries strengthens.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
