Ukraine is attacked with North Korean rockets, western technology supported
Ukraine is attacked with North Korean rockets, western technology supported
Kyiv, Ukraine - Ukraine sees itself exposed to an increase in Russian ballistic rocket attacks, about a third of which are carried out with North Korean weapons due to western electronics that were obtained despite the sanctions, according to Ukrainian military officials.
increase in the North Korean rocket attacks
According to a Ukrainian defense officer, Russia fired around 60 North Korean KN-23 missiles to Ukraine this year. This is almost a third of the 194 ballistic rockets that were previously fired in 2024, as a count of CNN shows that was publicly confirmed by the Ukraine Air Force.Spike of attacks in August and September
In August and September there was a significant increase in ballistic rocket attacks when Ukraine for the first time publicly detailed the use of the KN-23. "We see that Russia has been using ballistic rockets and attack drones much more intensely since spring, while the use of marching aircraft has decreased," said the Head of the Commissioner of the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ignat, in an interview with Cnn.
North Korean support for Russia
These less sophisticated rockets are part of the growing support of North Korea for Moscow, which also 11,000 North Korean soldiers , which are stationed in the Kursk region.
and European electronics in North Korean missiles
In the course of the increasing role of Norkorean rockets, Ukrainian civil servants have given a rare insight into debris from these weapons that the obvious scope of US and European-produced or designed electronics components show in their steering systems.
critical components from the west
Important components of the North Korean rockets come from nine western manufacturers, including companies from the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, such as a current report Ukraine (Nako) shows. Some parts of the KN-23/24 rockets that they analyzed were only produced in 2023, which indicates a quick delivery process in North Korea.
examinations of the arms residues
As part of such an investigation, CNN was shown a warehouse in which Ukrainian investigators search debris, find small details that provide information on the production of these fatal weapons. The camp was full of damaged drones and burned rocket pieces. In various buildings, hundreds of microchips were carefully sorted into folders that were named after the various weapons used by Russia-"Shaheed", "Iskander" and "KN-23".
number of victims due to rocket attacks
It is a dark place because the investigators are aware that the components were recovered from the ruins of buildings in which human lives were lost. Attacks with North Korean missiles killed at least 28 people this year and violated 213 more, as the Ukrainian Attorney General CNN announced.
The role of western components in North Korean missiles
"Everything that leads the rocket, lets it fly, are strange components. The entire electronics come from abroad. There is nothing Korean about it," said Andriy Kulchytskyi, head of the military research institute of the forensic expertise in Kiev. "The only thing that is Korean, the metal that rusts and corrodes quickly," he added.
challenges in the investigation
An official of the Ukrainian military secret service who wanted to remain anonymous reported that their investigations are made more difficult by the damage to the rocket fragments, but it is still possible to determine that "the vast majority of the components of western origin. Probably 70% come from the USA, from well -known companies [...]. They also use components from Germany and Switzerland."
China's role in arms trade
There is no reliable information about how exactly the components get to North Korea, according to weapons tracking experts. But all the signs indicate that China acts as a more likely channel. "We have successfully pursued some of these components, and the last known owners are Chinese companies," said Damien Spleteters, deputy director of operations at the "Conflict Armament Research" (Carament) organization, the independent Documented weapons .
restrictions on the persecution of components
car pursues a policy not to "name and shake" certain manufacturers, since there is no evidence that the companies have deliberately sent parts to North Korea. "Some parts of these components could actually be fake and manufactured in China," said Victoria Vyshnivska, Senior Researcher at Nako. "But we can't be 100 % sure," added, since the companies in question often do not respond to questions.
sales channels in the focus of politics
car and others consider the sales companies as the main problem. There are more than 250 companies whose components have been identified in North Korean missiles, says Car. But the majority of this electronics are sold to five main distributors, all of whom are based in the USA and Canada. Car calls on politics to regulate these sales companies.
conclusion
The lack of enforcement of the sanction regime by western nations is a central problem. "So far, no manufacturing companies have been held responsible for these deliveries," Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the commissioner of the Ukrainian President of Sanction Policy, told CNN. "We think that if one of these ... companies for the amount of microelectronics that were found in Russian rockets, for example, would be held responsible, really, really, really do more in this regard."