The Russian Air Force has used North Korean ballistic missiles at least three times in massive strikes on Ukraine’s rear infrastructure. But against the backdrop of a full-scale war with Ukraine, Russia is intensifying its range of ties with North Korea, and this Moscow-Pyongyang dialogue is a direct threat to the West.
Ukraine is only an intermediate goal for Putin and if Russia uses North Korean ballistics against Ukraine, it will use them against Europe – the only question is the proper military resources Putin is trying to accumulate. The Kremlin’s cynicism should also be noted: while protesting against Western arms supplies to Ukraine, Russia is at the same time buying large quantities of weapons from North Korea and Iran, using drones and ballistic missiles against Ukrainian civilians.
Russia’s use of ballistics against Ukrainian infrastructure makes the supply of air defence systems to the Ukrainian armed forces more relevant. Patriot, SAMP(T), and IRIS-T have proven their effectiveness in practical conditions: their specifications allow them to shoot down almost all types of Russian missiles. North Korean types of missiles are modified versions of Soviet designs, so they can also be effectively shot down by Western air defence systems.
The use of ballistics in urban conditions leads to a large number of civilian casualties – Russia is deliberately committing crimes that have no military purpose. Sanctions and complete international isolation will be the logical solution in response to the crimes of the terrorist state in Ukraine.
