U.S. says Russia fired first North Korean-supplied missiles into Ukraine

Russia deployed North Korean-made ballistic missiles into Ukraine for the first time over the New Year’s weekend, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, reflecting a growing concern that U.S. adversaries such as North Korea and Iran are helping the Kremlin sustain its military invasion of its neighbor.

Mr. Kirby said at least one of the missiles from Pyongyang was launched Saturday and several more may have been included in a barrage of airstrikes that killed at least five civilians Tuesday. The acquisition of these weapons enhances Moscow’s ability to target Ukraine’s infrastructure amid the war.

“This is a significant concern and escalation of [North Korea’s] support for Russia,” Mr. Kirby told reporters at the daily White House press briefing.

Moscow has turned to North Korea and Iran as it faces international sanctions that have left it isolated and struggling to replenish its weapons stocks as the Ukraine conflict nears the two-year mark. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un staged a high-profile summit in September in Russia’s Far East, where they pledged greater cooperation on a variety of fronts. 

The Biden administration and South Korea have expressed concern that Pyongyang can provide Russia ballistic missiles in addition to shells and weaponry from its own well-stocked arsenals, in exchange to access to high-tech sophisticated equipment for the North’s military and support in defying international economic and financial sanctions.

In addition to the ballistic missiles — which go as far as 550 miles — North Korea is also providing Moscow with ballistic missile launchers, according to Mr. Kirby. The one missile launched on Dec. 30 landed in a field in Ukraine, he said.

“We expect Russia and North Korea to learn from these launches and we expect Russia will use additional North Korean missiles to target Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and kill innocent Ukraine civilians,” he said.

In exchange for the ballistic missiles, North Korea is seeking fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles and ballistic production equipment, according to Mr. Kirby.

The White House added that Russia is planning to buy short-range ballistic missiles from Iran, but Mr. Kirby said no deal has been confirmed. Iran has already emerged as a critical supplier of cheap, lethal drones to Russia that have proven particularly hard for Kyiv to counter.

The New Year has seen some of the fiercest exchanges of missile salvos in months between Russia and Ukraine, even as the two armies appear bogged dogged in trench fighting along the 640-mile front in eastern Ukraine. Russia in recent days has launched record deadly salvos targeting Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities, along with key infrastructure as the winter cold settles in.

Ukraine’s missile defense systems have had mixed success handling the accelerated Russian barrages, but has countered with its own missile attacks on Crimea and Russian cities near the border such as Belgorod.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that its air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian air-launched missiles over the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, the Associated Press reported. One person was wounded by the falling debris of a downed aerial target in Sevastopol, a major port and the largest city on the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, regional Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev said, according to the AP account.

The previous night, Russian forces fired two S-300 missiles at Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which has faced almost daily attacks for a week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that Russia fired more than 500 drones and missiles in five days at Ukrainian targets just in the five days between Dec. 29 and Jan. 2.

The exchanges come as the Biden administration and NATO try to jump-start the pipeline of weapons and military support to Ukraine, which faltered in the final months of 2023 amid growing war fatigue and a sense of stalemate on the battlefield. Mr. Biden’s request for $64 billion in new military and economic aid for Ukraine has been hung up in Congress for months.

Diplomats from NATO and Ukraine have scheduled talks in Brussels next week to discuss the country’s needs, a NATO official said.

“NATO allies have already delivered a vast array of air defense systems to Ukraine and they are committed to further bolstering Ukraine’s defenses,” NATO spokesman Dylan White told reporters.

• This article was based in part on wire service reports.