Ukraine Says North Korean Missile Unit Deploying To Western Russia — Could Add Up To 120 Ballistic Missiles

Ukrainian military intelligence reports that a North Korean missile unit is moving into western Russia and could be equipped with as many as 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers intended for strikes against Ukraine. Kyiv says the unit — roughly 90 personnel — is expected to be based in Russia's Voronezh region and integrated with the 112th Missile Brigade.

What Ukrainian Officials Say

Andrii Cherniak of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence told Ukrainian authorities that Pyongyang has already dispatched a new batch of about 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles and accompanying personnel to Russia. He said the deployment's final configuration and total missile quantity are expected to be settled at top-level talks next month.

FILE PHOTO: A view shows a part of an unidentified missile, which Ukrainian authorities believe to be made in North Korea and was used in a strike in Kharkiv earlier this week, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine January 6, 2024. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/File Photo

Capabilities And Risks

Ukraine lacks sufficient high-end air defences and, according to Kyiv, Russia has increasingly relied on ballistic missiles because they are particularly difficult to intercept. Ukrainian military sources say the North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 variants have greater range and larger warhead capacity than Russia's Iskander missiles but are generally less accurate — a factor linked to higher civilian casualties when they are used.

Rob Lee, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, warned: "Ballistic missile defence is one of Ukraine's greatest vulnerabilities, so any increase in the quantities of ballistic missiles they face will pose a greater challenge." He added that Ukraine's air-defence posture this coming winter, when power infrastructure could again be targeted, is a major concern.

Context And Verification

Ukrainian officials say Moscow has fired scores of North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine since late 2023 and that North Korea supplied roughly 150 KN-23/KN-24 missiles between the end of 2023 and August 2025. Kyiv also says Pyongyang deepened military cooperation with Moscow after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, including a 2024 mutual defence pact and large-scale supplies of artillery ammunition.

FILE PHOTO: A bomb squad member works next to remains of an unidentified missile at the site where residential buildings were heavily damaged during a Russian missile attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine January 2, 2024. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova/File Photo

Ukrainian officials have previously alleged North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia's border regions in 2024; Cherniak more recently estimated about 9,500 North Korean troops remained in the Kursk area but were not currently reported as directly engaged in operations against Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that the Kremlin sought further North Korean troop deployments and that preparations were under way in Voronezh to receive them.

Notes On Sourcing

Reuters could not independently verify Cherniak's assertions. Cherniak said the underlying intelligence could not be publicly disclosed because of sensitivities. The Russian Defence Ministry and North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to written requests for comment.

Reported civilian toll: Kyiv said a North Korean missile flattened a home in the central village of Radushne last week, killing at least five members of the same family.