Russia has changed its tactics for using missiles from North Korea
Russian forces have changed their tactics for using North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine. Instead of massive barrages, Russia has begun conducting individual launches, which may be related to a change in the nature of the attacks or to the specific circumstances surrounding the use of these missile stocks.
ISW analysts note that Russian forces are likely using a small number of KN-23 ballistic missiles in nighttime strike packages alongside other types of weaponry. In this way, the occupiers are attempting to test the missiles and improve their accuracy.
On August 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russian forces had launched a KN-23 missile at the city of Zaporizhzhia. This is not the first such incident in the past month—on the night of July 29–30, Russia had already launched a KN-23 missile strike on the Dnipropetrovsk region, for the first time since the summer of 2025.
The reason for Russia’s caution is likely related to the quality of the missiles themselves. According to available information, earlier batches of KN-23s supplied by North Korea proved to be highly inaccurate.
Since then, Russia has been working with Pyongyang to improve these weapons, and sporadic launches may be part of that process.
Ukrainian officials recently reported that North Korea has sent at least 40 KN-23 ballistic missiles to Russia. However, according to available data, Russia is currently launching only a very small number of these missiles at a time.
The ISW believes that adding North Korean missiles to Russia’s arsenal will allow Russia to intensify its ballistic missile strikes against Ukraine in the near future. This will allow the occupiers to avoid using their S-400 and “Zircon” missile systems, which are already in short supply.
In the Mykolaiv region, two people were injured over the past 24 hours as a result of attacks by Russian drones.
In the Poltava region, a fire broke out at an industrial facility as a result of Russian shelling.
In addition, since the evening of August 11, Russian troops have attacked four districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region nearly 20 times with drones and missiles. A 57-year-old man was injured in the strikes.
On the night of August 11–12, Russian occupation forces struck Zaporizhzhia. The attack damaged one of the facilities belonging to the “Epicenter” chain.
