Missile event in Ukraine on Fri 29th December 2023

Russia has begun firing ballistic missiles provided by North Korea into Ukraine, the latest sign of cooperation between two of Washington’s archnemeses, the White House said Thursday.

Russia’s deployment of North Korean-supplied ballistic missiles, first reported by The Washington Post, indicates North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s growing support for Moscow’s war effort. It also shows Moscow’s ability to lean on pariah countries to make up for deficiencies in its own arsenal as the war in Ukraine approaches its third year. “Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage and they’ve been forced to look to like-minded states for military equipment,” said White House spokesman John Kirby, who partially attributed Russia’s limited options to sanctions imposed by Washington.

Kirby presented a map showing the trajectory of Russia’s first known use of North Korean missiles on Saturday, launching from southern Russia and landing in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region — an area of intense fighting between Kyiv and Moscow. The first strike landed in an open field, Kirby said. A second strike Tuesday was part of a larger overnight aerial attack that the United States has less information about. “We’re still assessing the impacts of these additional missiles,” Kirby said.