On Thursday, July 30th, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia used a North Korean missile in a strike on the village of Radushne near Kryvyi Rih, killing five members of the same family. This marks the first time such a weapon has been fired in the war in nearly a year.
Zelensky described how one missile flattened a home, killing two parents and three of their children, while the fate of the remaining four children and a 1½-year-old grandson remains unclear. Preliminary data indicated the missile used was North Korean.
Reuters had earlier reported, citing two sources, that the missile used in the strike was likely North Korean. A military source noted that Russia has launched North Korean missiles at Ukrainian targets before, but this is the first deployment since August, suggesting Moscow has a fresh stockpile as it intensifies missile attacks.
Russia recently launched dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones in an overnight attack that killed at least nine people, occurring at a time when Ukraine faces a severe shortage of advanced air defense systems.
The use of North Korean missiles aligns with a pattern of Russia shifting towards more ballistic missiles like its Iskander 9M723, which can only be intercepted by US-made Patriot air defense systems, according to the military source.
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