Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office: DPRK missiles malfunction in RF, with half exploding mid-air

According to the Office, prosecutors examined the debris of 21 out of about 50 North Korean ballistic missiles that Russia used to strike Ukraine between late December and late February.

"About half of the North Korean missiles lost their programmed trajectories and exploded in the air; in such cases the debris was not recovered," the Prosecutor General's Office said.

They also added that the last recorded launch of a North Korean KN-23 missile at Ukraine was on February 27. The total number of detected launches coincides with intelligence data indicating that North Korea supplied Russia with about 50 ballistic missiles.

Three missiles were fired at Kyiv and adjacent areas. The targets of other missiles were the Kharkiv, Poltava, Donetsk, and Kirovohrad regions.

The attacks by North Korean weapons, which began on December 30, 2023, killed 24 people in Ukraine, injured 115, and damaged residential buildings and industrial facilities.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, about 50 missiles were launched from the western regions of Russia - Belgorod, Voronezh, and Kursk. At the same time, Ukraine is still investigating whether Pyongyang sent instructors to Russia to monitor the missile launches.

North Korea's missiles in Russia

At the beginning of this year, the White House announced that Russia had received ballistic missiles from North Korea. Joe Biden's administration claimed that the Russian army had already used such weapons to strike Ukraine.

In particular, one of North Korea's missiles landed in a field in the Zaporizhzhia region. Another missile could have hit the Bucha district of Kyiv region, causing a large crater.

Recently, the use of North Korean missiles by Russia was confirmed by the United Nations (UN).