Zelensky: Russia may have used a North Korean missile against Ukrainian village of Radushne for the first time in a year

Russian forces launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight into Thursday, killing at least nine civilians — including five members of a single family — in the village of Radushne near Kryvyi Rih. According to preliminary information cited by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the strike may have involved a North Korean-made ballistic missile for the first time in nearly a year.

"Of course, an expert examination will be carried out, and this still needs to be verified, but at this point there is information suggesting it was a North Korean ballistic missile," Zelensky said in his evening address. He once again urged Ukraine's allies to speed up deliveries of air defense systems and increase pressure on Moscow to halt the invasion.

Earlier, Reuters, citing two of its own sources, reported that the Russian military appeared to have used a missile made in North Korea — for the first time in nearly a year. Moscow has not commented on the report.

According to Ukrainian authorities, one of the missiles fired by Russia struck a residential building in Radushne directly. Zelensky said the parents and three of their children were killed, while the fate of other family members remains unknown. Regional authorities, for their part, reported six deaths.

One of Reuters' sources within the Ukrainian military said radar systems detected two flight signatures during the attack consistent with North Korean-made KN-23 or KN-24 ballistic missiles heading toward Kryvyi Rih. According to the sources, the resumption of such missile use after a long pause could indicate that Moscow has received a new shipment of weapons amid intensifying air strikes on Ukraine.

One source noted that the use of North Korean missiles fits a broader pattern: Russia is increasingly relying on ballistic missiles — similar to its own 9M723 Iskander — which can only be intercepted by American Patriot air defense systems.

According to Reuters, Russia began using North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 missiles against Ukraine in late 2023. Sources say such missiles were last used in a strike on Ukraine in August of last year.

Military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang has grown significantly closer in recent years. In 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a defense partnership treaty with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to AFP, North Korea has supplied Russia with weapons systems, and in return, analysts say, the internationally isolated North Korean regime has received financial aid, food, energy supplies and military technology from Moscow.

Under the same defense agreement, North Korea sent troops in 2024 to assist Russian forces in the Kursk region, which Ukrainian units had earlier invaded and partially occupied. With the help of North Korean soldiers, Russia pushed Ukrainian forces out of the area several months later, in 2025. Ukraine has been repelling the Russian invasion since February 2022.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz