On January 11, the US State Department imposed sanctions against three Russian organizations and one individual involved in the transfer and testing of ballistic missiles from North Korea, which Russia uses against Ukraine.
This was reported by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
The sanctioned list includes:
- the Russian state airline "224th Flight Squadron";
- its general director Volodymyr Mikheichyk;
- Volodymyr Prospective Military Research Complex (a Russian military facility engaged in missile testing);
- Russian Ashuluk missile range.
The State Department also identified four aircraft (two Il-76s and two An-124s, flight numbers RF-86898, RF-78757, RF-82011 and RF-82041) as "blocked property." According to the departmentʼs estimates, these planes participated in the transportation of North Korean ballistic missiles and related cargo in November and December 2023.
In August 2023, SBU notified Mikheichyk of his suspected involvement in waging an aggressive war against Ukraine. He and his squad helped transport arms and fighters of the PMC "Wagner" to Ukraine from the Middle East.
What is known about missiles from North Korea
On January 5, the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not confirm Russiaʼs use of ballistic missiles from the DPRK. The spokesman of the Air Forces Yuriy Ignat said that experts are studying the wreckage, but it will take time. However, on January 4, Western media wrote that Russia received a batch of ballistic missiles from North Korea (several dozen) and launchers for them. On the same day, the US officially announced that Russia had short-range ballistic missiles from North Korea and had launched them into Ukraine — the first on December 30, 2023 (fell in Zaporizhzhia) and several others on January 2 during a massive missile attack.
On January 10, South Koreaʼs ambassador to the UN said that North Korea is using Ukraine as a testing ground for its ballistic missiles with the help of Russia.