Putin invites allies: North Korea deploys missiles in Russia, while Kyiv goes up in flames
According to Ukrainian intelligence, North Korea has begun deploying a missile unit in western Russia that will include 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers. At the same time, the shortage of interceptors makes it difficult for Ukraine to deal with Russian attacks.
Military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is escalating, and it appears that President Vladimir Putin is finding loyal partners in the Far East to cover gaps on the battlefield. A source in Ukraine's military intelligence revealed that a North Korean missile unit has begun deploying in western Russia. According to the report, first published by the Reuters news agency, the force is expected to be equipped with no less than 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers, intended for striking strategic targets in Ukraine.
Andriy Chernyak, a senior official in Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence, noted that Russia plans to base the missile unit—which includes about 90 North Korean soldiers and personnel—in the Voronezh region, under the auspices of the 112th Russian Missile Brigade. This step constitutes a worrying expansion of the alliance between the two countries. Pyongyang has already recently sent a new shipment of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles, which have a greater range and significant payload capacity compared to Russian 'Iskander' missiles, even if they are considered much less accurate.
Kyiv is helpless against the barrage
While the ballistic threat from the east grows, Ukraine's skies remain more exposed than ever. According to a report in the British newspaper 'The Daily Telegraph', the Ukrainian Air Force failed in its attempt to intercept even one Russian missile during a deadly nocturnal attack on the capital, Kyiv, this week. The results of the shelling were devastating: 17 people were killed and at least 27 were wounded in one of the harshest and deadliest attacks the city has known this year.
The Russian army launched no less than 115 suicide drones and 28 high-speed missiles, which struck seven different sites throughout the capital and its surroundings. The explanation for the defensive failure is simple but troubling: Ukraine suffers from a severe shortage of advanced interceptors for the American 'Patriot' systems, which are effectively the only response it has against ballistic missiles. Sirens sounded throughout the capital for more than an hour, while fires broke out across the city and rescue forces struggled to extract those trapped under the rubble. While the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the targets were military logistics centers, the head of Kyiv's military administration defined the attack as a deliberate crime against civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The blood price of the new alliance
The lethal combination of Ukrainian helplessness in the air and the entry of North Korean weaponry into the campaign is already claiming human lives. Last week, five members of one family were killed in the village of Radushna in the center of the country by the impact of a North Korean-made missile.
While Russia uses more and more ballistic weaponry to exploit the Ukrainian weak point, Kyiv is trying to fight back by attacking Russia's economy, among other things by striking a logistics center of the giant company 'Wildberries' near Tula. At the same time, reports indicate that about 9,500 North Korean soldiers are already staying in the Kursk region, and President Volodymyr Zelensky warns that the Kremlin is preparing to receive 30,000 additional fighters from Kim Jong Un's regime. Ahead of the winter, when Russia is expected to renew its attacks on the electricity grid, Kyiv is facing a breaking point in its air defense array.
