The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) confirmed Thursday that Russia utilized North Korean missiles in several assaults that killed more than 20 people.
In January, the United States warned that North Korea was transferring ballistic missiles and launchers to Russia, citing a troubling escalation of Pyongyang’s assistance for Moscow.
“According to the investigation, Russian troops released more than 20 North Korean weapons over Ukraine… at least 24 civilians were killed and more than a hundred seriously injured”, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported.
It described the weapons as ‘Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles’ and shared images of fragments on Telegram.
According to the SBU, the missiles were employed in a late December attack on the southern Zaporizhzhia area and again in January in the capital Kyiv.
SBU went on to say, “Russia also launched missiles in the frontline regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv”.
“Comprehensive measures are underway to establish all the circumstances of the crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice about logistical routes for the supply of weapons”, the SBU continued.
In January, nearly 50 countries, including the United States, European states, South Korea, and Japan, issued a statement condemning the suspected transfer.
Traditional allies Russia and North Korea have lately rekindled relations, with Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un making a rare visit to see President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s Far East in September.
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