Almost half of the North Korean missiles launched by the Russian Federation over Ukraine exploded in the air

In Ukraine, they investigated the wreckage of North Korean ballistic missiles that Russia launched over the countryʼs territory in winter. The investigators found out that about half of them exploded in the air.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine informed Reuters about this in response to a request.

Prosecutors have examined debris from 21 of about 50 North Korean ballistic missiles launched between late December and late February.

“About half of the North Korean missiles lost their programmed trajectories and exploded in the air; in such cases, the wreckage was not found," says the OGPʼs response.

The prosecutorʼs office added that fragments from North Korean missiles were found in Kharkiv, Poltava, Donetsk and Kirovohrad regions, in addition to Kyiv and the cityʼs outskirts.

When debris from North Korean KN-23 missiles could not be collected at the crash sites, the targets were identified by flight paths, speeds and launch locations, the agency said.

The last recorded use of KN-23 missiles, according to the OGP, was on February 27.

The prosecutorʼs office noted that 24 people were killed and another 115 were injured in Ukraine since the start of Russiaʼs use of missiles from North Korea.

Law enforcement officials are still investigating whether Pyongyang sent instructors to observe the launch of ballistic missiles, according to the OGP.

• Russian troops first hit Ukraine with North Korean Hwasong-11 (KN-23/24) missiles during large-scale attacks on December 29, 2023 in the direction of Zaporizhzhia, and on January 2 this year in Kharkiv. On February 22, 2024, the SBU confirmed that the Russian Federation had hit Ukraine with a KN-23 — its wreckage had already been analyzed then. KN-23/24 hit Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Kharkiv and five front-line villages of Donetsk region. Ukrainian air defense was able to shoot down some of the missiles.