Firefighters battle a blaze in Kyiv, Ukraine, after a Russian missile strike on Aug. 10, 2026. (EPA/Yonhap)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again alleged that Russian forces have used North Korean missiles, as he reiterated claims that Pyongyang plans to send additional troops and weapons to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.In a video address Monday, Zelenskyy said that Russia had used North Korean ballistic missiles in an attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine said that at least six people were killed and 19 injured in the attack.In his announcement of Russia’s use of North Korean missiles, Zelenskyy said, “For the first time, [Russia] cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea.”“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, the greater the danger will later be for Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and other countries in the region,” he predicted. On July 25, Zelenskyy claimed Russia had requested the deployment of an additional 30,000 troops from North Korea. On Aug. 8, he said that Pyongyang had decided to send up to 50,000.At the same time, he has stressed the need for South Korea to cooperate more closely with Ukraine and called on it to provide support with anti-aircraft weapon systems.On July 30, Zelenskyy said at least five people had died in attacks with North Korean missiles in Ukraine, stating that the use of North Korean missiles was a clearly verified fact.Amid Zelenskyy’s ongoing claims of North Korean involvement in Ukraine, Russia and Ukraine have been targeting each other with intensive air strikes and bombing.In a speech on Tuesday, Zelenskyy described a Ukrainian air strike on a Russian oil refinery in western Siberia as a “very significant achievement,” pledging more deep strikes by Ukraine to “demonstrate to Russia and the Russians that peace is necessary.”Earlier this year, Ukraine began attacking sites in Russia’s interior, far from the border shared between the two countries. In mid-June, it began launching assaults on sites including major distribution centers belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer.On Tuesday, Ukraine struck a logistics warehouse for the online retailer Wildberries in the southern Russian region of Voronezh. The business, which has been referred to as Russia’s version of Amazon, has been repeatedly targeted for Ukrainian strikes over the past several weeks.A day earlier, 13 people were killed — including one child — in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, over 1,100 km from the Ukrainian border. It was one of the single deadliest strikes on Russian territory since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.Russia has also carried out missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, which is facing growing losses due to a lack of anti-aircraft missiles.Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov posted images on social media showing vehicles and buildings burning after strikes on industrial facilities, infrastructure, and non-residential structures in the region where Zelenskyy claimed North Korean ballistic missiles had been used. In the capital city of Kyiv, a person was injured in an air strike amid two air strike warnings during the night.Ukrainian officials claimed Russia had launched 120 drones and various missiles throughout the night, although for the first time they did not state the number of missiles launched or intercepted. This change came in response to a statement from the military urging the media not to use provocative titles or spread pessimism about the anti-aircraft network’s shortage of interception missiles.By Jung E-gil, senior staff writerPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
