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Ukraine has accused Russia of using North Korean ballistic missiles in a deadly overnight attack on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, highlighting the growing role of Pyongyang’s weapons in Moscow’s war effort.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian attack killed at least six people and injured around 20 others. He said the strike involved North Korean ballistic missiles alongside Russian Zircon anti-ship missiles and KAB precision-guided aerial bombs.

“The city was hit by North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons (anti-ship missiles) and KABs (precision-guided aerial bombs),” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, describing the attack as “a brutal attack calculated to inflict maximum damage to civilian infrastructure.”

Russia has not confirmed that North Korean missiles were used in the Zaporizhzhia strike, while North Korea has not commented on the allegation.

The accusation comes as Ukraine faces a growing challenge from Russian ballistic missile attacks and a shortage of high-end air defense interceptors. It also follows recent Ukrainian intelligence claims that a North Korean missile unit is deploying to western Russia with potentially dozens of missiles and launchers.

Emergency response efforts have been ongoing since last night to deal with the aftermath of the Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia. The city was struck with North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons, and guided aerial bombs. It was a vicious attack, calculated to inflict maximum… pic.twitter.com/6Bj3KpdYVQ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 11, 2026

Ukraine has previously accused Russia of using North Korean ballistic missiles, with such weapons appearing in Russian strikes since late 2023. The latest allegation, however, comes amid signs that military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is becoming more direct.

On August 5, 2026, Ukrainian military intelligence official Andrii Cherniak told Reuters that a North Korean missile unit of about 90 personnel had begun deploying to Russia’s Voronezh region. The unit was expected to operate alongside Russia’s 112th Missile Brigade.

According to Cherniak, Russia could receive 120 North Korean ballistic missiles and six launchers as part of the deployment. He said Pyongyang had already sent a new batch of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles and personnel to Russia, although the final configuration of the deployment would be determined during higher-level talks.

The United States was aware of the reported deployment, according to a source familiar with the matter, although Washington has not publicly confirmed the details.

The Russian Defense Ministry and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately comment on the reported deployment.

North Korean missile forces operating from Russian territory would represent a further expansion of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. Until now, North Korea’s support has largely involved supplying Russia with ammunition, missiles and personnel rather than openly operating its own missile units alongside Russian forces.

The reported use of North Korean ballistic missiles is particularly significant because ballistic missile defense remains one of Ukraine’s major vulnerabilities.

Russian forces have increasingly relied on ballistic weapons to exploit gaps in Ukraine’s air defense network. Such missiles travel at high speeds and on trajectories that make them difficult to intercept, with Ukraine’s most capable systems, including U.S.-supplied Patriot batteries, among the few defenses able to engage some of the Russian and North Korean ballistic missiles used in the war.

Ukrainian officials say North Korea’s KN-23 and KN-24 missiles have a longer range and larger payload than Russia’s comparable Iskander ballistic missiles, although they are generally considered less accurate.

The missiles have previously been linked to deadly strikes against civilian areas. Ukrainian authorities said last week that a North Korean missile struck a residential home in the central Ukrainian village of Radushne, killing at least five members of the same family.

The latest reported use in Zaporizhzhia therefore comes as Kyiv is already warning that its limited supply of air defense interceptors is becoming a serious problem.

Ukraine’s Air Force recently urged media outlets not to publish “sensationalised headlines” or spread pessimism about interceptor shortages. The warning came as Russia continued to launch large numbers of drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

Zelenskyy Warns of Wider North Korean Involvement

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly warned that North Korea’s involvement in the war could expand beyond the supply of weapons.

In a video address on Monday, he said Russia “cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea” and warned that the continued use of North Korean missiles and soldiers could allow Pyongyang to gain battlefield experience.

“The more North Korean strikes there are here in Ukraine, in Europe, the more their missiles and soldiers are used, the more they correct their shortcomings and blind spots,” Zelenskyy said.

He argued that the growing cooperation between Russia and North Korea could eventually pose a wider security threat beyond Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also said over the weekend that a decision had been made for between 30,000 and 50,000 North Korean personnel to be deployed to Russia. Ukrainian officials have previously provided lower estimates for the number of North Korean troops involved in supporting Russian operations.

North Korea previously sent an estimated 14,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region in 2024 after Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into the Russian territory. Ukrainian officials now estimate that about 9,500 North Korean troops remain in the Kursk region, although they are not currently directly involved in combat operations against Ukraine.

Russia and North Korea strengthened their military relationship after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in 2024 that included a mutual assistance provision in the event of external aggression.

North Korea has also supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar rounds, ballistic missiles, long-range artillery systems and multiple-launch rocket systems, according to Ukrainian and independent assessments.

Deadly Strikes Across Ukraine

The Zaporizhzhia attack was part of a broader wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said six additional people were killed in separate attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.

Russian strikes also hit Kyiv, where explosions were heard on the outskirts of the capital, and fires broke out. One person was reported injured.

A hospital in Kyiv was damaged, although officials said staff and patients had taken shelter. Russian attacks also damaged electricity substations in Kherson and Kharkiv, causing power outages.

In Sumy, two women aged 52 and 66 were injured in a Russian drone attack. Civilian vehicles, warehouses and infrastructure facilities were also damaged, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched around 120 drones during the overnight attacks, alongside various types of missiles. Officials did not provide a figure for the number of missiles fired or intercepted. The strikes came shortly after one of the deadliest recent Ukrainian attacks inside Russia.

Ukraine Expands Strikes Inside Russia

Ukraine has increasingly carried out long-range drone attacks against targets deep inside Russian territory as it seeks to disrupt Russia’s military and energy infrastructure.

Russian authorities said at least 13 people were killed and 39 wounded in Ukrainian drone strikes on Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan. The attack, which occurred more than 1,100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, was among the deadliest Ukrainian strikes inside Russia since the full-scale war began.

Ukraine said it had targeted the Tanevo oil refinery in the area. Ukrainian drone attacks have also targeted warehouses operated by Wildberries, one of Russia’s largest online retailers.

A Wildberries logistics facility in Russia’s Voronezh region was reportedly hit by explosions and fire in the latest incident. The company said its facilities in the region were evacuated but had not confirmed that the site had been attacked.

Kyiv has previously said its strikes on Wildberries facilities were aimed at disrupting logistics hubs that it believes are used to support the Russian military.

Ukraine also said it had targeted an oil refinery in the Russian city of Orsk in its latest round of strikes. Zelenskyy described a Ukrainian strike on a Russian petrochemical plant in western Siberia as a “very significant achievement” and promised more long-range attacks.

The widening use of long-range weapons on both sides underscores the increasingly interconnected nature of the conflict. Russia is relying on large-scale missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, while Ukraine is using drones and other long-range weapons to strike Russian military, energy and logistics targets.

The reported use of North Korean ballistic missiles adds another dimension to that escalation. If the deployment of North Korean missile personnel and additional launchers is confirmed, it could give Russia access to another source of ballistic missiles at a time when Ukraine is struggling to maintain sufficient high-end air defense coverage.

The development also reflects the increasingly close military relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang, with North Korean weapons and personnel becoming a more visible part of Russia’s war effort.

The latest Zaporizhzhia attack has brought that cooperation into sharp focus, with Kyiv now directly accusing Russia of using North Korean ballistic missiles in a deadly strike against a Ukrainian city.