Russian Overnight Strikes in Ukraine Involve North Korean Ballistic Missiles

In the early hours of August 11, Russian forces launched a coordinated barrage of missiles, drones and glide-bombs against Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv and the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukrainian officials said the strike employed ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea, alongside Russian-made Zircon anti-ship missiles and precision-guided aerial bombs. The attacks ignited fires, damaged industrial facilities and caused civilian casualties across the three locations.

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The use of North Korean weaponry follows the strategic partnership signed in 2024 between President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, which pledges mutual aid if either country faces aggression. Since then, Pyongyang has sent troops, artillery, mortar rounds and ballistic missiles to support Russia’s invasion that began in February 2022. Ukrainian intelligence has warned that a North Korean missile unit is being positioned in Russia’s Voronezh region, potentially equipped with 120 missiles and six launchers.

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• Casualties: Reported deaths range from six to ten, including seven workers at the Zaporizhstal steel plant. Injuries are reported between 19 and 24.

Reuters

• Missile types: North Korean ballistic missiles, Russian Zircon hypersonic missiles and Iskander ballistic missiles.

Kyiv Independent

• Targets: A metallurgical plant in Zaporizhzhia, a Nova Poshta sorting complex in Kyiv, residential buildings, a children’s hospital in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district and a warehouse in the capital.

Kyiv Independent

The Ukrainian military said the strikes aimed at crippling facilities that support Russia’s war effort.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its forces targeted military-industrial facilities and transport-logistics centres in both cities, adding that it struck civilian storage sites housing drones in Kyiv and a metallurgical plant in Zaporizhzhia.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Metinvest, the parent company of the Zaporizhstal steel plant, confirmed that seven employees were killed and dozens injured when the missile struck workers sheltering after an air-raid alert.

Reuters

Casualty figures differ across outlets: PBS reported ten civilian deaths, BBC cited six, while RFERL noted seven steel-plant workers killed. Injuries are similarly inconsistent. No independent verification of the exact number of North Korean missiles used has been provided, and Pyongyang has not commented on the allegations.

Euronews

• “Six people were killed and 19 others wounded,” — Ivan Fedorov, Zaporizhzhia regional governor

Euronews

• “The city was hit by North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons (anti-ship missiles) and KABs (precision-guided aerial bombs),” — Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president

KSL-TV

A day of mourning is scheduled for August 12 in Zaporizhzhia, where regional leader Ivan Fedorov said the attack killed seven people and injured 24. Zelenskyy has urged Western partners to accelerate deliveries of Patriot interceptors and other air-defence systems, warning that continued shortages will enable Russia to sustain its intensified missile campaign.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty