Kyiv claims Russia attacked Ukraine using North Korean missiles

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Kyiv on Friday claimed that Russia conducted airstrikes on Ukraine using North Korean missiles, mirroring a statement made a day earlier by the US.

“There is no longer any disguise... As part of its outright genocidal war, the Russian Federation for the first time struck at the territory of Ukraine with missiles received from... North Korea,” Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on X.

Podolyak’s comments came hours after Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said that remnants from missiles found in the eastern Ukrainian region show they were not produced by Russia.

“We are conducting all the necessary research. I will say in advance that the markings have been erased from these missiles, but what we can see is the country of manufacture is not the Russian Federation,” Synyehubov said during a briefing, Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne reported.

On Thursday, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby claimed during a press briefing that Russia used ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea in a series of attacks on Ukraine during the New Year holiday.

According to him, the transfer of ballistic missile launchers and "several" missiles from North Korea to Russia occurred "recently."

Neither Russian nor North Korean officials have yet commented on the claims.