North Korea's dispatch of additional ballistic missiles to Russia poses a serious challenge for Ukraine's air defense systems and could expand Moscow's long-term missile attack capabilities.
Modern.az reports that The War Zone (TWZ) publication wrote about this.
According to the publication, Russia is exploiting a shortage of missiles for "Patriot" systems, one of the main weaknesses of Ukraine's air defense. Increased missile supplies from North Korea could allow Moscow to carry out large-scale strikes for longer than its own production capabilities.
According to Ukrainian military intelligence, Pyongyang recently sent another 40 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles to Russia. In total, Moscow is reportedly planning to acquire 120 such missiles and six launchers.
The article notes that North Korea may also deploy its missile unit in Voronezh region.
According to analysts, Russia prefers ballistic missiles because they are considered among the most difficult targets for Ukrainian air defense systems.
Experts say that Russia has not been able to significantly increase the production of "Iskander" missiles. For this reason, additional missiles from North Korea compensate for this shortage and increase the threat to Ukrainian cities, energy infrastructure and other civilian objects.
The publication emphasizes that the main risk is not only the new batch of missiles, but also Russia's actual use of North Korea's production capacities. If Moscow finances this production, it can carry out intensive ballistic attacks for a long time.
It is reported that although Ukraine has the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles, the number of missiles used for this is limited.
Currently, "Patriot" systems are considered one of the main means that can effectively destroy Russian "Iskander", as well as North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 missiles. However, missiles for these systems are expensive, produced in small numbers, and are in demand not only by Ukraine, but also by the US and its allies.
Although European SAMP/T air defense systems are also used against ballistic missiles, they have been supplied to Ukraine in limited numbers.
The article notes that global demand for "Patriot" missiles has sharply increased against the backdrop of wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Russia's use of North Korean missiles gives Pyongyang the opportunity to test and improve them in real combat conditions.
According to military expert Pavel Narozhny, North Korea's KN-23 missiles are currently considered close to the "Iskander-M" complex in terms of their characteristics.
