Just a day after Zelensky announced new strikes deep inside Russia, Moscow responded with a fierce missile attack. At least five people were killed in Zaporizhzhia, and dozens were injured.
Russian forces launched a powerful ballistic missile attack on Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities on Tuesday morning, killing at least five people and injuring 20 in the city of Zaporizhzhia. According to Ukrainian authorities, as reported on Telegram by the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, industrial facilities and infrastructure were targeted in Zaporizhzhia. Regional governor Fedorov posted photos online of burning buildings and vehicles, bearing witness to the scale of the destruction.
In the capital, Kyiv, one person was reported injured according to initial reports. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that explosions were heard and urged residents to remain in shelters while emergency services responded. Additionally, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian missiles were heading toward Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv. The Russian attack on Kyiv caused fires in the capital, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that six people were killed in Zaporizhzhia. On Telegram, he wrote: "The city was hit by North Korean ballistic missiles, (anti-ship missiles) Zircon, and (precision-guided bombs) KAB." He added: "(It was) a brutal attack aimed at causing maximum damage to civilian infrastructure." Russia did not immediately comment on whether it had used North Korean weapons, and Pyongyang also did not react to the reports.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces struck a postal sorting facility in Kyiv, which it claims was used to distribute dual-use goods, including drone parts and electronic warfare equipment. They also stated that a metallurgical plant in Zaporizhzhia, which produces steel and is allegedly used by the Ukrainian military, was hit. Overnight, six more people were killed in the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
The attack came as a direct retaliation for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's announcement yesterday of new strikes on targets inside Russia. According to analytical sources, Russia used two North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles and four Zircon hypersonic missiles in the attack on Kyiv, while Zaporizhzhia was targeted with four KN-23 missiles. For the first time in several weeks, at least four interceptors from American Patriot PAC-3 systems were launched over Kyiv.
The retaliation followed a Ukrainian drone attack on Monday, which Russian authorities said killed 13 and wounded 39 in Nizhnekamsk. Kyiv also announced on Tuesday that it had struck an oil refinery in the Russian city of Orsk, continuing its increasingly frequent attacks on Russian refineries and storage facilities. After more than four years of war, Ukraine finds itself in a situation where it lacks sufficient interceptor missiles for its air defense. Although it possesses several Patriot systems, it does not have enough ammunition for them. There is concern in Kyiv that Russia could, during the coming winter, once again inflict significant damage on the country's infrastructure with missile strikes, further complicating life for millions of Ukrainians.
In a video address last night, Zelensky stated that Ukraine will continue its attacks on targets deep within Russian territory, following Kyiv's confirmation of a successful strike on Russia's oil industry in the Siberian city of Tobolsk. "Peace is necessary," he said, emphasizing that such operations will demonstrate to Moscow the need to end the conflict.
At the same time, he reiterated his warning about North Korea's growing military support for Russia. Zelensky stated that Moscow had received additional ballistic missiles from Pyongyang and was preparing for the arrival of a new contingent of North Korean soldiers, although he provided no evidence for these claims. He also warned that North Korean weapons have been further developed in cooperation with Russia, posing a threat to countries in Asia as well. Over the weekend, he estimated that Russia could receive up to 50,000 North Korean troops to support its war effort. On platform X, he wrote that "a decision has been made to deploy between 30,000 and 50,000 North Koreans on Russian territory" to fight for Moscow.
Additionally, Reuters quoted a Ukrainian military intelligence official who said last week that a North Korean missile unit had arrived in western Russia and could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for attacks on Ukraine. Russia has launched numerous North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine since late 2023, but the deployment of North Korean missile forces would represent a serious expansion of the already extensive military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
North Korean soldiers were deployed in Russia during 2024 and 2025 to help Russian forces push Ukrainian troops out of the western Russian region of Kursk. In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its counteroffensives against Russia, relying heavily on drones.
