Russia used North Korean missiles in Ukraine attack, U.S. says

Russia fired missiles provided by North Korea at targets in Ukraine as part of an aerial barrage in recent weeks, according to a recently declassified U.S. intelligence assessment showing Moscow’s growing reliance on other countries to wage its war effort.

The U.S. believes Russia used the North Korean-provided missiles in at least two attacks on Saturday and Tuesday, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday. Kirby said the U.S. also believes Russia is seeking to acquire close range ballistic missiles from Iran, although it does not yet believe Tehran has delivered such weapons systems. Russia has frequently used Iranian-produced drones to launch attacks into Ukraine in recent months and is building a factory that will manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles designed by Iran, according to the White House.

Russia plans to continue using North Korean ballistic missiles – which can be fired from as far as 550 miles away – in the coming weeks, Kirby said, without detailing how the U.S. obtained the intelligence.

Biden administration officials plan to raise the issue at the United Nations Security Council, alleging that the transfer of North Korean missiles to Russia violates multiple existing resolutions constraining trade with Pyongyang.

The U.S. is also planning to impose new sanctions against those working to facilitate the deal.

“We will not allow countries to aid Russia’s war machine in secret,” Kirby said.

The Biden administration has highlighted Russia’s attempts to gather equipment from countries like Iran and North Korea to argue that sanctions and the battlefield efforts of Ukraine and its allies have drained Russian military reserves – and necessitate further arms shipments from the US.

Lawmakers failed last year to authorize additional aid to Ukraine, with the White House and Senate Republicans currently negotiating a package that would offer billions more in weapons alongside new immigration controls at the US-Mexico border.

U.S. efforts to isolate Putin after his invasion of Ukraine have pushed the Russian leader closer to North Korea and Iran.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Putin met in September in Russia, talks which the U.S. said were focused on furthering arms deals between their countries. Putin also pledged closer ties with Iran last month after meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi.