Ballistic missiles from North Korea hit Ukraine

Ballistic missiles from North Korea hit Ukraine and destroyed critical defense infrastructure, the White House said in a statement.

We are talking about the Hwasong-11 missiles, which resembles the Russian/Soviet OTR-21 and entered service with North Korea about 20 years ago, and the North Korean copy of the Iskander 9K720 – KN-23 with a flight range of 700-800 km and, therefore, can launched from missile systems available to the Russian Federation. Therefore, there is a very high probability that it was the DPRK that handed them over to Russia.

In the case of the Iskander-M, says Defense Express, Russia began to have problems because this missile, although extremely effective, is very expensive to produce, and its reserves due to constant use in the first half of the war were reduced to 30 % of the original ones.

Experts point out that the North Korean analogues are in some ways even better than the Russian “original”. “The launch weight of the KN-23 is 3.4 tons (400 kg less than in the 9M723 missile of the Iskander complex), the warhead is 500 kg, the confirmed launch range is 690 kilometers (or 190 kilometers more than that of the Iskander “)”, the article says.

As for the KN-24, they are visually similar to ATACMS, but the proven launch range is higher and amounts to 410 km. American media also report that Russia is also receiving from North Korea a large number of 300-mm KN-09 (unguided) missiles for MLRS systems. The Wall Street Journal reports: “No one expected Russia to receive ballistic missiles from North Korea in addition to ammunition.”

#BREAKING #Russia #Ukraine #NorthKorea "Russia has already launched North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine, this happened on December 30 and January 2." – The White House.
Footage: Smotri pic.twitter.com/F2ImOT2QsT

— The National Independent (@NationalIndNews) January 4, 2024

“Russia has already launched North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine, this happened on December 30 and January 2,” – White House.

The total number of ballistic missiles received initially amounted to 200, then their number increased as North Korean factories work “in three shifts”, that is, 24 hours a day, to produce ammunition for Russia in exchange for food and raw materials, as well as assistance in space so that North Korea could have its own spy satellites.

#BREAKING North Korea supplied Russia with missiles for Ukraine attacks, White House says pic.twitter.com/krtkJgnq9s

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 4, 2024

North Korea supplied Russia with missiles for attacks to Ukraine, the White House says.

Previously, the DPRK transferred more than a million artillery shells to the Russian Federation in exchange for Moscow’s help in launching a spy satellite into space.

According to the White House, the Russian army is also receiving missiles from Iran: deliveries of Fateh-110, Zolfaghar and Dezful missiles with a firing range of 1000 km have begun, which will be delivered by next summer!

The Fateh-110 short-range missile was previously used by Iran in January 2020, when it leveled US bases in Iraq after the assassination of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani. Its mass is 3.3 tons, its explosive charge is 448 kg, and its flight range is up to 300 km.

The Zolfagar missile is an evolution of Fateh. This solid-fuel ballistic missile, 10.3 meters long and with a total mass of 4570 kg, hits targets at a range of up to 700 km. At the same time, it carries a warhead weighing 579 kg.

“Our intelligence indicates that the DPRK recently provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several dozen ballistic missiles,” – an American official told the WSJ.

How true this information is is a difficult question. Russia neither denies nor confirms these deliveries, however, the expanding cooperation of the Russian Federation with Iran and North Korea indirectly confirms the possibility of such supplies.

Ukraine points to a photo of a Russian-launched missile that hit the city of Kharkov and claims it could be a missile that was produced and developed in North Korea and was recently transferred to Russia. But even from the photo you can see that the missiles are different…

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