Zelenskyy says North Korean ballistic missiles used by Russia in deadly attack in Ukraine

At least 12 people killed across Ukraine in separate Russian attacks

Russian forces killed six people early on Tuesday in an attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia that involved North Korean ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Six others were killed overnight in the Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk, and a Russian attack on Kyiv caused fires in the capital, Ukrainian officials said.

Regional governor Ivan Fedorov posted photos online showing buildings and vehicles ablaze in Zaporizhzhia, where officials said 20 people had also been wounded.

"The city was hit by North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons (anti-ship missiles) and KABs (precision-guided aerial bombs)," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

"A brutal attack calculated to inflict maximum damage on civilian infrastructure."

Russia did not immediately say whether it had used North Korean missiles in the attack on Zaporizhzhia. There was no comment from Pyongyang.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had struck the Nova Poshta sorting complex in Kyiv, which it said was used to store and distribute dual-use goods, including components for drones and electronic warfare equipment.

WATCH | Ukraine's missile defence system challenge:Russian forces also struck a metallurgical plant in Zaporizhzhia that produces flat-rolled steel, which it said was used by the Ukrainian military, the ministry said.

The attacks followed a Ukrainian drone strike that Russian authorities said on Monday had killed at least 13 people and wounded 39 in the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk, one of the heaviest civilian tolls in Russia in months.

More than four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there is no end in sight to a war that has killed many thousands of people, mostly in Ukraine, devastated towns and cities and forces millions of Ukrainians from their homes.

Russia has continued heavy bombardments of Ukraine, trying to exploit Ukraine's shortage of high-end air defences by using more ballistic missiles, which are particularly hard to shoot down.

Kyiv has increasingly been striking Russia, including hitting oil refineries and warehouses used by e-commerce retailer Wildberries. Ukraine said on Tuesday it had targeted an oil refinery in the Russian city of Orsk in its latest strikes.

North Korea provides troops, weapons

Russia has fired scores of North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine since late 2023, but the deployment of North Korean missile forces would be an expansion of the already extensive military co-operation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Zelenskyy said on X on Saturday that "a decision has been made for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed on the territory of Russia" to fight for Moscow. He had previously provided an estimate of 30,000 soldiers.

Russia and North Korea signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty two years ago, including a mutual assistance provision if either faced external aggression. North Korea sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to Russia's Kursk Region in 2024 after an incursion into the region by Ukrainian forces.

North Korea has also supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar rounds, ballistic missiles, long-range artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, according to Ukrainian and independent assessments.

Russia has also used the pioneering low-cost, long-range Iran-designed Shahed attack drones, unleashing thousands of them on Ukraine every month. Moscow has adapted the design of the Shahed, which it calls the Geran, to include new features, including jet engines, which it is using to penetrate deeper into Ukraine, including Kyiv.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has used a range of missiles provided by allies like the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden and France.

With files from CBC News