A North Korean missile unit has begun deploying to western Russia and could ultimately be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for potential strikes against Ukraine, according to a senior official from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. The assessment, reported by Reuters, points to a possible escalation in military cooperation between Russia and North Korea as Moscow continues to rely on external support in its war against Ukraine.
Andrii Cherniak of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence told Reuters that Russia intends to station a North Korean missile unit of approximately 90 personnel in the western Russian region of Voronezh, where it would be attached to Russia’s 112th Missile Brigade. According to Cherniak, Pyongyang has already dispatched a fresh shipment of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles, along with personnel, although the final structure of the deployment and the total number of missiles are expected to be determined during high-level talks scheduled for next month.
Cherniak said Russia anticipates that the deployment will eventually include 120 North Korean ballistic missiles and six launchers. However, he noted that it remains unclear what operational role North Korean personnel would play within Russian missile units or whether they would directly participate in missile launches.
According to Reuters, the reported deployment coincides with Russia’s launch last week of what Ukrainian authorities identified as the first two North Korean ballistic missiles used against Ukraine since August 2025. Reuters said it was unable to independently verify Cherniak’s claims, which he said were based on intelligence that could not be publicly disclosed because of its sensitivity.
The Russian Ministry of Defence and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Ukraine has repeatedly warned that it remains critically short of advanced air defence systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. Reuters noted that Russia has increasingly relied on ballistic missile strikes because such weapons are significantly more difficult to intercept than many other types of missiles.
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Reuters that additional North Korean missile deployments would present a significant challenge for Ukraine. “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 said. Lee added that Ukraine’s air defence capacity during the coming winter would be of particular concern if Russia resumed large-scale attacks against the country’s energy infrastructure similar to previous campaigns.
North Korea has emerged as one of Russia’s closest military partners since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The two countries signed a mutual defence pact in 2024, while Ukrainian officials have accused Pyongyang of supplying millions of artillery shells to Russia and deploying approximately 14,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region to help repel a Ukrainian cross-border offensive in 2024.
Last week, Ukrainian authorities said a North Korean ballistic missile struck a residential home in the central Ukrainian village of Radushne, killing at least five members of the same family. Cherniak told Reuters that the attack represented the first confirmed use of North Korean ballistic missiles since August 2025 and that the missiles involved came from the latest shipment of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles, corroborating earlier Reuters reporting.
According to Ukrainian military sources cited by Reuters, North Korea’s KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles possess a greater range and carry larger warheads than Russia’s Iskander missile system. However, they are considered significantly less accurate and have been associated with attacks that resulted in high civilian casualties.
Reuters reported that Russia first began using KN-23 and KN-24 missiles supplied by North Korea towards the end of 2023. Cherniak said North Korea delivered approximately 150 of the missiles between late 2023 and August 2025. He also stated that around 9,500 North Korean troops remain stationed in Russia’s Kursk region but are not currently participating directly in combat operations against Ukraine.
The report also follows comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last month that the Kremlin was seeking to secure the deployment of an additional 30,000 North Korean troops and had begun preparations to receive them in Russia’s Voronezh region, further underscoring what Ukrainian officials describe as the deepening military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang.
