Russia is preparing to expand its use of North Korean ballistic missiles, with six launchers deployed in Voronezh Oblast that could put seven Ukrainian regions within range, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on Friday, Aug. 21.
The Ukrainian military’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) confirmed on Aug. 20 that North Korea had transferred around 50 KN-23, KN-24 and KN-30 ballistic missiles to Russia as of July 2026, according to ISW.
The Russian launchers in Voronezh could reportedly strike targets in Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, ISW said.
The KN-30, also known as the Hwasong-11C, is an upgraded version of the KN-23 ballistic missile and can reportedly carry a warhead weighing up to 2,500 kilograms (2.75 tons).
ISW said it has not observed evidence that Russian forces have used the KN-30 against Ukraine.
Russia expands North Korean missile capability
According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, Russia has begun deploying six launchers for North Korean missiles in Voronezh Oblast. The launchers could collectively fire up to 120 missiles, ISW reported.
The deployment would give Russia another ballistic missile capability for striking Ukrainian targets from Russian territory.
Ukrainian military expert Anatoly Khrapchinsky cautioned that Russia does not necessarily use every available launcher as part of a strike package during a single mission.
Russia has around 160 Iskander launchers capable of carrying two missiles each, but Russian forces launch an average of 16 to 26 missiles per strike package, Khrapchinsky said.
North Korean missiles also differ from Russia’s Iskander-M missiles in accuracy and warhead size.
Khrapchinsky said Iskander-M missiles can strike within approximately 5 to 20 meters of their intended target, while North Korean KN-23 missiles have reportedly missed their targets by hundreds of meters or even kilometers.
However, the North Korean missiles can carry substantially heavier warheads.
KN-23-series missiles can reportedly carry warheads weighing up to 1ton (970 kilograms), compared with the standard 480-kilogram warhead on Russia’s Iskander-M, resulting in larger craters and stronger shock waves.
The reported deployment indicates that Russia continues to develop ways to incorporate North Korean missiles into its assaults against Ukraine.