North Korean Missile Deployment Inside Russia Puts Ukraine and Sanctions Regime Under New Pressure
Ukraine’s military intelligence says Pyongyang has begun deploying a missile unit to western Russia, with plans to supply up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for use against Ukrainian targets. If borne out, the move would turn North Korea from an arms supplier on paper into an operational player in Europe’s largest war, testing sanctions enforcement and stretching air defenses already short on interceptors.
Russia’s war in Ukraine may be about to gain a new, highly sanctioned participant. Ukraine’s military intelligence service said on 6 August that North Korea has begun deploying a missile unit to western Russia, with plans to provide up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for use against Ukrainian territory. Moscow is also training newly recruited North Korean troops, the agency claimed, describing the program as preparation for future offensive operations. The assertions, if confirmed, would mark a sharp escalation in a relationship that has already drawn U.S. and European sanctions for suspected arms transfers. Until now, most Western concern focused on North Korean artillery shells and short-range rockets…
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