Russia deploys North Korean missile unit to Ukraine; Moscow-Pyongyang axis deepens: report

A Ukrainian intelligence official says Russia is deploying a North Korean unit with up to 120 ballistic missiles in its war against Ukraine.

Pyongyang has already sent a new batch of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles and personnel to Russia, but the configuration of the deployment and total number of missiles will be finalised at top-level talks next month.

Russia plans to station a missile unit made up of North Korean troops in the Voronezh region, according to Andrii Cherniak, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, the Reuters news agency reported.

North Korea is preparing to deploy a missile unit to western Russia that could operate up to 120 ballistic missiles for strikes on Ukraine, a Ukrainian military intelligence official told Reuters. The move would mark another major escalation in military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Russia has fired scores of North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine for years, but the deployment of North Korean missile forces would be an expansion of the two's cooperation.

A North Korean missile unit has begun deploying to western Russia and could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine, an official at Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.

EXCLUSIVE: North Korean missile unit deploys in Russia for Ukraine war, Kyiv says  Reuters