Russia’s North Korean missiles could threaten Kyiv and six other regions, ISW says

Russia is deploying six launchers for North Korean ballistic missiles in Voronezh Oblast, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on August 20. Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) corroborated this information. This development adds to the concerns over Russia's missile threat, as the weapons could potentially reach Kyiv and six other regions in Ukraine. The KN-30 missile, in particular, possesses a 2,500-kilogram warhead, though Russia has not used it against Ukraine, according to ISW.

HUR reported that North Korea had transferred around 50 KN-23, KN-24, and upgraded KN-30 ballistic missiles to Russia by July. The KN-30's larger warhead capacity may make it more effective in mass attacks aimed at overwhelming Ukrainian air defenses. ISW predicts Russia will stockpile ballistic and cruise missiles for several days prior to launching large barrages, as demonstrated by the recent attack on August 19-20, which lasted nearly nine hours and resulted in at least 15 casualties in Kyiv.

North Korean missiles have already been used in deadly strikes across Ukraine, as corroborated by Ukrainian military expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi. These missiles are less accurate than Russia's Iskander-M but have larger warheads. On July 30, a North Korean missile killed five members of a family in Radushne, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Additionally, on August 10, a North Korean missile struck a Zaporizhzhia steel factory, killing seven workers and injuring 21 others.