Zelensky Says Russia Fired North Korean Ballistic Missiles, Killing At Least Nine Overnight

Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least nine people overnight and wounded dozens, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia was hit with North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons, and guided aerial bombs.

“"It was a vicious attack, calculated to inflict maximum damage specifically on civilian infrastructure"”

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Zelenskyy said, "It was a vicious attack, calculated to inflict maximum damage specifically on civilian infrastructure," and he added that "as of now, six people have been reported killed and nineteen wounded in the city."

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The attacks also hit Kyiv, where Zelenskyy said an infectious diseases hospital building was damaged, and the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv and Donetsk regions also came under attack, according to the UPI report.

In Kyiv, AP reported that Russia bombarded Ukrainian cities with missiles, drones and glide bombs, killing at least nine civilians, while local officials said six people were killed and 19 wounded in Zaporizhzhia and three more people, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it delivered a group strike with high-precision ground-based weapons hitting military-industrial enterprises and transport-logistics centers in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, according to RFI’s AFP account.

Zelenskyy warned that Russia is receiving more ballistic projectiles and troops from North Korea, and he accused Moscow of launching North Korean missiles in the raid, according to RFI’s AFP account.

In a televised address Monday, Zelenskyy said Russia is preparing not for peace but for escalation, and he argued that "Every step Russia takes — increasing ballistic missile production, bringing in North Korean equipment, preparing for mobilization — all of this shows that Moscow is preparing not for peace, but for escalation."

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AP reported that Zelenskyy said Russia has received additional ballistic missiles from Pyongyang and is preparing to deploy more North Korean troops, while noting that Putin and Kim Jong Un signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2024.

The Boston Globe also reported that Zelenskyy said Russian forces used ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea in their overnight attack on Zaporizhzhia, where local officials said six people were killed and 19 wounded.

CBS News added Zelenskyy’s warning that the more North Korean strikes there are in Ukraine, the greater the danger will later be for Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and other countries in the region.

Zelenskyy urged allies in the Asia-Pacific to supply air defense to Kyiv to counter Pyongyang’s capabilities, while RFI reported that Kyiv has not explained how it obtained the figures or provided a timeframe for the alleged deployment.

“"a decision has been made for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed on the territory of Russia."”

RFI

RFI’s AFP account said Zelenskyy warned that a decision had been made for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed on the territory of Russia, and it also reported that Russia has turned to North Korea for support throughout its four-and-a-half-year invasion.

Kyiv Post reported that South Korea is refusing to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine even as Kyiv says North Korea is supplying Russia with missiles and troops, and it quoted a senior South Korean foreign ministry official saying, "South Korea’s supply of defense materials to any country has always been carried out in accordance with domestic law."

The Kyiv Independent reported that Zelensky said Russia is preparing to host an additional contingent of North Koreans on their territory and that "They have received, if you can imagine, additional ballistic missiles from North Korea," while also quoting Zelensky’s claim that Russia cannot wage war without supplies from North Korea.

Ukrinform said Zelenskyy emphasized that drone attacks are occurring virtually every day in communities near the front lines and that in Kherson and Kharkiv substations were hit overnight, resulting in power outages, as emergency services worked to restore power to households.