Russian missile attack on Kyiv reveals North Korean origin
For the second time in a week, Russians have attacked Ukraine with ballistic missiles originating from North Korea. This time, the remnants of such a weapon were found in the forest near Brovary in the Kyiv region.
For a long time, there were no recorded strikes using North Korean ballistic missiles on Ukrainian locations. Before the hiatus, the last documented case occurred on February 27 of this year. However, it has been confirmed that attacks using this weapon have resumed. The Russians used North Korean ballistic missiles during the massive attacks on July 31 and August 6. Again, these were KN-23 ballistic missiles.
KN-23 ballistic missile fell in Ukraine again
"Yesterday in Kyiv, explosions were heard. The enemy attacked the capital with ballistic weaponry. The official report from the Air Force states that the Russians attacked Kyiv with Iskander-M missiles. However, according to our information, one of the missiles that fell on the outskirts of Kyiv, in the forest near Brovary, was manufactured in North Korea. It is a KN-23 missile. At the crash site, in the forest, remnants with markings characteristic of North Korean missiles were found," explained Ukrainian military expert Oleg Katkov on the Espreso TV channel.
The KN-23 ballistic missile (known as Hwasong-11Ga in North Korea) is solid-fuelled. It is estimated to have a range of up to 650 kilometres. This is more than the range of Russian Iskanders, to which the KN-23 is compared. The weight of such a missile is about 3,400 kilograms.
Further details of the August 6 attack were also reported by the Ukrainian army's command.
"During the night of August 5, 2024, the enemy launched four Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles towards the Kyiv region from the Voronezh region (Russia), two Kh-59 guided missiles from the airspace over the Sea of Azov, and 16 Shahed attack drones from Cape Chauda – Crimea and Kursk – Russia," informed General Mykola Oleshchuk on his Telegram profile.
The missile did not hit its target
On the Ukrainian portal Defence Express, it was explained that the North Korean ballistic missile fell in the forest near Brovary in the Kyiv region. The remnants were discovered about 20 kilometres from the centre of Kyiv. The Ukrainian capital was the target of the attack using the KN-23. According to Ukrainians, it is hard to believe that the Russians would want to use such a powerful weapon to attack smaller towns.
A video appeared on social media showing a KN-23 ballistic missile falling uncontrollably. As Defence Express experts noted, such situations are quite common with missiles from North Korea. It is estimated that even half of them do not reach their targets; some have very large deviations, others fail in the air.
