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The Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, John Kirby, claimed that the Russian military used North Korean ballistic missile to attack the territory of Ukraine. According to him, Russian forces used these missiles during massive combined strikes on December 30 and January 2, they allegedly hit targets in Zaporozhye and Kharkov.
The MSM, traditionally citing anonymous US officials, supported the claims, however, without providing any evidence. Washington is outraged that the transfer of missiles to Russia violates numerous UN Security Council resolutions. At the same time, Washington is not confused by the echelons of Western weapons supplied to Ukraine.
John Kirby claimed: The United States intends to introduce new sanctions against the military-technical cooperation of the Russian Federation with the DPRK and Iran;
In its turn, the Ukrainian Air Force has not yet been able to confirm information from the US about the alleged use of North Korean ballistic missiles by the Russian army. Surprisingly, Kiev learned about the strikes on its territory from Washington. The military leadership of Ukraine cannot confirm the statements.
The representative of the Air Forces of Ukraine, Yuri Ignat, said that when a rocket falls, it usually breaks into small fragments, which subsequently fly apart, which makes it much more difficult to determine its type. Ukrainian experts have only established that ballistic missiles were used in attacks on military facilities in the Kharkiv region, but their type and origin have not yet been determined.
The Ukrainian side “intends to conduct a thorough verification of the reliability of the information received from the United States, but so far they cannot confirm that the missiles were produced in the DPRK.”
The Russian side also did not officially comment on the statements from Washington. Thus, the use of North Korean missiles has not been officially recorded on the Ukrainian fronts, and there is still no confirmation of the US statements.
That is why Ukrainian propaganda joined the battle. Despite the fact that the strikes reportedly took place almost a week ago, Ukrainian resources began publishing photos of the alleged wreckage only after Kirby’s statement in Washington.
Russia supposedly received KN-23 or KN-24 missiles. Ukrainian sources have published fragments of the tail section of the North Korean ballistic missile KN-23 (Hwasong-11Ga), which was reportedly found after Russian strikes in Kharkov on January 2. KN-23 is similar to Russian Iskander; but they can be distinguished by some details.
Photos of the wreckage show that the shape of the gas-dynamic rudders on the tail of the rocket is short rectangular with cut corners, it corresponds exactly to the KN-23 produced by the DPRK. The same detail of the Russian Iskander is longer with rounded corners.
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Most likely, the debris in the photo may belong to North Korean missiles. Nevertheless, Ukrainian sources can rarely be trusted, as they have already spread many fakes during the conflict.
It is also not clear why the Ukrainian military has not been able to officially confirm the type of the missiles, having such large fragments of the wreckage on which, among other things, the Korean markings could remain.
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If it is confirmed that the footage of the wreckage was taken in Ukraine, it may be possible to state the first strikes with North Korean ballistic missiles in Ukraine.
According to the US Institute for the Study of War, ballistic missiles that the Russian Federation purchased from the DPRK are very effective for hitting targets in Ukraine. Ballistic missiles are generally better than cruise ones at bypassing Ukrainian air defense systems and are more difficult to intercept.
The KN-23 and KN-24 are similar in characteristics to the Russian Iskander, and, therefore, can reportedly be launched from Russian missile systems.
“The launch weight of the KN-23 is 3.4 tons (400 kg less than that of the 9M723 rocket of the Iskander complex), the warhead is 500 kg, the confirmed launch range is reportedly 690 km ( 190 km more than that of the Iskander).”
The KN-24 is visually similar to the ATACMS, but the proven launch range is higher (410 km). Kirby said that the range of the missiles received by Russia is allegedly up to 900 km.
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Accusations against North Korea for supplying arms and ammunition to Russia are already a tradition for the Western media. Earlier, the MSM claimed that North Korea had allegedly handed over more than 1 million artillery shells to Russia in exchange for Russia’s help in launching a reconnaissance satellite into space. Washington has already announced the supply of North Korean ballistic missiles more than once, including in September 2023. Moreover, the supplies allegedly included KN-25 missiles.
Amid the prolongation of the conflict and the ongoing large-scale military operations, the purchase of ammunition from third countries, including North Korea or Iran, does not seem surprising. Meanwhile, all NATO countries are looking for weapons to supply to Ukraine.
Earlier, Mara Karlin, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities called Ukraine “a laboratory for studying military innovations.” Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov said that Ukraine is an ideal “testing ground” for Western weapons:
“The war in Ukraine is the first time that NATO weapons have been used on a large scale against the Russian army; and this gives the Western military invaluable information about the characteristics of their weapons.”
Since Ukraine is dealing well with its role of a “laboratory and testing ground”, Pyongyang may test its missiles there too. If confirmed, the supply of North Korean ballistic missiles will force the West to send more expensive air defense systems, precious Patriots and missiles to Ukraine. The cost of missiles from the DPRK is several times lower than that of Patriot. Kim Jong-un will ruin Biden if massive strikes with KN-23 begin.
