Russia has used around 50 North Korean missiles to attack six Ukrainian oblasts since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Oleksandr Filchakov, the head of the Kharkiv Oblast prosecutor's office, said on March 14 during a press conference.
North Korea has been shaping up as Russia's leading weapons supplier, reportedly providing Moscow with extensive military packages, including ballistic missiles and over 3 million artillery shells.
In Kharkiv Oblast, only one case of Russia using North Korean Hwasong 11 (KN-23/24) missile was officially confirmed, Filchakov said, referring to Russia's attack on Kharkiv on Jan. 2.
Filchakov added there are two other cases of Russia reportedly launching North Korean missiles against the region that are currently being investigated, namely during an attack on Kharkiv's Slobidskyi city district on Feb. 7.
"We are waiting for the results of the expertise, after which we will be able to confirm it (the use of North Korean missiles)," Filchakov said.
The prosecutor also said that North Korean missiles used by Russia are of poor quality, and "several cases" were recorded of the Hwasong missile "exploding in the air."
"It (Hwasong 11) differs from the Iskander-M: it has an imperfect control system, its flight range is up to 700 kilometers when Iskander-M could strike for a distance up to 250 kilometers," Filchakov said.
One of the first cases of Russia using North Korean ballistic missiles was recorded on Dec. 30, 2023, during an attack on Zaporizhzhia, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) wrote.
Later on, Russia hit an apartment building in Kyiv with a North Korean missile in early January, killing four people and wounding over 50, according to the SBU.
Katie Marie Davies
(Updated: )
