Russia bolsters forces with North Korean missiles and new brigades

Ukrainian media have reported on the forming of two new brigades within the Russian army's structure, possibly armed with highly destructive weapons—KN-23 ballistic missiles and Iskander-M systems.

Russia's moves are being closely monitored, among other things, by the Defence Express portal, which specializes in military topics and cites information from the Russian Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST).

The KN-23 ballistic missiles, also known as Hwasong-11Ga, have been produced in North Korea since 2018. Russia has likely been receiving them from the start of 2024. There have already been several confirmed attacks on Ukrainian positions using KN-23 missiles. Each missile is approximately 7.5 meters long and weighs approximately 3,400 kilograms, with the warhead weighing around 500 kilograms. Their range can exceed 600 kilometres, and they are solid-fuel missiles.

While some analysts and observers of the war in Ukraine, and even Russian soldiers, express doubts about the quality of the Korean weaponry (for example, in terms of its accuracy or component quality), the KN-23's significant concern lies in its sizeable destructive force. This missile type can incinerate everything within approximately 40 metres, as witnessed in a forest near Kyiv.

The KN-23 ballistic missiles were expected to equip a new brigade involved in the conflict in Ukraine, which differs from the brigade that received Iskander-M systems.

As The Moscow Times reported in April this year, it has become part of the newly formed Leningrad Military District and has been deployed to Karelia at the border with Finland as a nuclear deterrent. This is because the Iskander-M can be modified to carry nuclear payloads and fire ballistic missiles with warheads of 5 to 50 kT force. However, for attacks on Ukraine, Russians use missiles equipped with more conventional fragmentation or cluster warheads, with an impact range of around 600 kilometres.