Ukraine War29 July, 20262 min read
Zelensky Says Russia Used North Korean Ballistic Missile in Radushne Strike Killing Six Family Members
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Preliminary data indicate Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile in the Kryvyi Rih strike. A family was killed in the Kryvyi Rih strike.
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Radushne strike and casualties
President Volodymyr Zelensky said preliminary information indicates a North Korean ballistic missile was used in a Russian strike that killed at least six family members in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast during Moscow's mass attack on Ukraine on July 30. Zelensky said the strike hit the village of Radushne outside Kryvyi Rih, and local media reported six family members confirmed killed as of 6 p.m. local time while identification work continued.
The BBC reported Zelensky branded the attack a "horrific crime" after a missile decimated a home near Kryvyi Rih, killing parents Artem and Olena and three children, while other family members were still missing. Ukrinform said Zelensky told Ukrainians in his evening address published on Telegram that "for the first time in a while, the Russians used a North Korean missile" in the strike on Radushne, with emergency response efforts continuing in several Ukrainian cities.
Zelensky’s accusations and appeals
In his evening address on July 30, Zelensky said, "Of course, more examinations will follow, and everything will be verified, but as of now – it is a North Korean ballistic missile," as searches continued underneath the rubble of the home. Zelensky also accused the alliance between Russia and North Korea of existing "for the sake of missiles, North Korean troops on our borders here in Europe, and killing our Ukrainian children," and he said many countries condemned the attack.
Ukrinform reported Zelensky stressed that what matters most is "air defense missiles and pressure on Russia that can stop this dumb Russian war," and he argued the war could have ended long ago but Vladimir Putin has no intention of ending it. The BBC added that Zelensky wrote on X that the Russian missile strike was so powerful that "almost nothing remained of the house…" and he renewed his argument that Ukraine needs missiles for "Patriots" to defend against Russian ballistics.
Air defense stakes and wider war
Zelensky tied the Radushne strike to a broader push for air defense, saying in his Telegram address that "Air defense missiles – for Patriots in the first place, but also for NASAMS, IRIS-T, HAWK, and our other systems – are the key priority." The BBC reported that the attack came as Zelensky met US President Donald Trump in Washington DC to urge the US to grant Ukraine a licence to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, and it described the overnight barrage as involving more than 70 missiles and over 280 drones.
The Kyiv Independent said the July 30 mass attack killed at least eight people, injured more than 50 others, and triggered air raid alerts in eastern Poland after what is believed to have been a Russian missile fell into a field in the Lublin region. Ukrinform also reported that Kryvyi Rih declared July 31 a day of mourning for the victims of the Russian missile strike on Radushne, which killed at least six members of a large family, as Zelensky said specialists would verify the preliminary findings.