The Kremlin on Tuesday (January 9) declined to comment on claims from the United States and Ukraine that Russia used missiles supplied by North Korea and accused Kyiv of attacking Russia with missiles produced by Western countries.
The wreckage of a North Korean missile that fell in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Reuters reported that the White House last week, citing newly declassified intelligence, said that Russia had carried out a number of attacks on Ukraine using short-range ballistic missiles from North Korea. This statement was later confirmed by a senior Ukrainian **.
Moscow and Pyongyang have been close since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, but both sides have denied any ** deals.
Asked about the accusations of the United States and Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No comment. Peskov added that Ukraine has repeatedly used missiles produced "by Germany, France, Italy, the United States and other countries" to strike civilian targets in Russia.
Dutch expert Olymans said that the missile provided by North Korea for Russia may be the latest "Hwasong-11" missile. This short-range ballistic missile can hit targets reliably and with high accuracy, and is easy to hide, deploy quickly, and not easily shoot down.
The overall assessment of the North Korean missile by the Ukrainian side is: close to the Iranian missile, but the technology is rather crude.