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North Korean missile unit deploys in Russia for Ukraine war, Kyiv says

05 August 2026 13:15 (UTC +04:00)

A North Korean missile unit has begun deploying to western Russia and could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine, an official at Ukraine's military intelligence agency said, Reuters reports.

Ukraine is very short of high-end air defences and Russia has tried to exploit this by ‌using more ballistic missiles, which are particularly hard to shoot down.

Russia has fired scores of North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine since late 2023, but the deployment of North Korean missile forces would be an expansion of the already extensive military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Andrii Cherniak of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence said Russia planned to base the missile unit of around 90 North Korean personnel in the western Russian region of Voronezh, within its 112th Missile Brigade.

Ilgar Khudiyev

North Korea Russia Ukraine ballistic missiles missile unit Voronezh Andrii Cherniak Ukraine military intelligence Main Directorate of Intelligence Russian military Pyongyang Moscow Russia-North Korea cooperation air defense Reuters