Ukraine Reports High Failure Rate for Russian Use of North Korean Missiles

About half of the North Korean missiles that Russia launched at Ukraine deviated from the programmed trajectory and did not reach its target. The failure rate is high.

This was reported by Reuters, citing the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the prosecutors examined the wreckage of 21 of the approximately 50 North Korean ballistic missiles that Russia used to strike Ukraine between the end of December and the end of February.

“About half of the North Korean missiles lost their programmed trajectories and exploded in the air; in such cases, the debris was not recovered,” said the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.

The last recorded use of a KN-23 (North Korean ballistic missile) was on Feb. 27, the prosecutor’s office said, adding that the total number of launches it has identified tallied with intelligence showing North Korea delivered about 50 ballistic missiles to Russia.

The Korean missiles were fired at Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Donetsk, and Kirovohrad Regions, killing 24 people and injuring 115.