Russia fires North Korean missiles at Ukraine with Western components – CNN

Since the beginning of the year, Russia has fired about 60 North Korean KN-23 missiles at Ukraine, which have Western components, some of them manufactured in 2023. From Korean, these rockets only have metal that rusts quickly. This is reported by CNN UNN.

Details

According to the publication, this year Russia launched about 60 North Korean KN-23 missiles at Ukraine, which is almost one third of the 194 ballistic missiles launched to date in 2024.

“We see that since the spring, Russia has been using ballistic missiles and attack drones much more for attacks on Ukraine. And the use of cruise missiles is less,” Yuriy Ignat, Acting Chief of Communications of the Air Force of Ukraine, told CNN.

The publication notes that according to a recent report by the Ukrainian Independent Anti-Corruption Commission, key components used in North Korean missiles are produced by nine Western manufacturers, including companies based in the United States, the Netherlands and Great Britain. Some parts of the missiles were manufactured as recently as 2023, which indicates the possibility of rapid delivery to North Korea.

“Everything that works to control the missile, to make it fly, are all foreign components. All the electronics are foreign. There is nothing Korean about it. The only thing that is Korean is the metal, which quickly rusts and corrodes,” said Andrii Kulchytskyi, head of the KNDISE military research laboratory, commented to the publication.

Ukrainian intelligence told the publication that, according to investigations, “the vast majority of components are Western”,

Citing experts, the publication notes that there is no reliable information on exactly how the components get to North Korea, but all signs point to China being the likely channel.

“We have successfully traced some of these components and the last known custodians are Chinese companies,” said CAR Deputy Director of Operations Damien Splitters.

We will remind

Experts of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Examinations (KNDISE) found that during the combined attack on Ukraine on November 13, Russia used, among other things, North Korean ballistic missiles of the KN-23/24 type.

According to KNDISE experts, KN-23 combines both modern technologies and solutions of the last century. A significant percentage of microelectronics is produced in China, Taiwan, the USA and other countries. Most likely, the launches are carried out from North Korean-made launchers, since it would be much more difficult to adapt Russian systems.

Let’s add

Earlier, KNDISE experts spoke about the technical features of North Korean missiles, which Russia uses to attack Ukraine.