LONDON Aug 5, 2026 — A North Korean missile unit has started deploying to western Russia and could be equipped with as many as 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for attacks on Ukraine, according to a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official.
Andrii Cherniak of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence said the unit of approximately 90 North Korean personnel is planned to be based in the Voronezh region as part of Russia’s 112th Missile Brigade. Russia expects the full deployment to include 120 North Korean ballistic missiles, Cherniak told Reuters.
Pyongyang has already transferred a new batch of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles along with personnel. Final details on the exact configuration and total numbers are expected to be settled at high-level talks next month, he added.
The move comes as Russia recently resumed firing North Korean missiles at Ukraine for the first time since August 2025. Last week, Russian forces used at least one such missile in a strike that destroyed a home in the village of Radushne near Kryvyi Rih, killing five members of the same family.
North Korea’s KN-23 and KN-24 missiles have a longer range and larger warhead than Russia’s comparable Iskander systems but are generally less accurate. Ukrainian officials have previously linked them to strikes that caused high civilian casualties.
Russia has fired scores of these North Korean missiles since late 2023. Between the end of 2023 and August 2025, North Korea is assessed to have supplied around 150 of them. The new deployment would significantly expand the scale of cooperation.
Ukraine is currently short of advanced air-defence interceptors capable of stopping ballistic missiles. Experts note that any increase in ballistic missile attacks will heighten pressure on Kyiv’s limited Patriot systems, particularly ahead of winter when Russia has previously targeted energy infrastructure.
“Ballistic missile defence is one of Ukraine’s greatest vulnerabilities,” said Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “Any increase in the quantities of ballistic missiles they face will pose a greater challenge.”
North Korea has become one of Russia’s closest military partners since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The two countries signed a mutual defence pact in 2024. In addition to millions of artillery shells, North Korea previously sent about 14,000 troops to help Russia retake territory in the Kursk region. Around 9,500 North Korean soldiers are still believed to remain there, though they are not currently conducting direct operations against Ukraine.
Reuters could not independently verify the intelligence claims. Neither the Russian Defence Ministry nor North Korea’s mission to the United Nations immediately responded to requests for comment.
The deployment marks a further deepening of the military alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang as the war in Ukraine continues into its fifth year.
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