Russia fires North Korean missiles at ‘key’ Ukrainian energy facility, Zelenskyy says

Published on 7 November 2026 – 15:45 GMT+1

Technical assessments are under way at the locations struck by the missiles. Initial analysis indicates that, at one of the key energy facilities damaged, Russian forces employed KN‑23 missiles supplied by North Korea, according to the president’s social‑media post.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia fired 36 ballistic missiles toward Kyiv and its surrounding region, with four of them intercepted and destroyed.

The KN-23 missile

The KN‑23 is a short‑range ballistic missile developed by North Korea, possessing an estimated maximum range of roughly 690 km, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Missile Threat website.

It is believed to have undergone its first test in May 2019 and resembles the Russian Iskander‑M missile in design.

In April, Ukraine’s defence ministry noted that the KN‑23 had already been deployed in earlier attacks on Ukrainian territory and described the weapon as “extremely difficult for air‑defence systems to counter.”

North Korea is thought to have dispatched over 16,000 personnel to assist Russian forces since October 2024, along with supplying munitions. In June of that year, President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong‑un signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty.

Winter attacks

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the recent attacks were aimed at critical energy infrastructure, as Russia intensified strikes ahead of the winter season. Moscow has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid during winter, seeking to erode the nation’s resolve.

Sybiha wrote on X that Moscow is deliberately trying to leave millions of Ukrainians without electricity, heating, and water as winter approaches.

Zelenskyy suggested the strikes were also intended to increase pressure on Ukraine’s negotiating stance ahead of the planned trilateral talks involving Kyiv, Moscow and Washington in Abu Dhabi.

Overnight attacks in the Kyiv region resulted in at least six injuries, including a child, and caused damage to a bridge and energy infrastructure, according to local authorities and the State Emergency Service.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko of Kyiv stated that the Pivnichnyi Bridge was struck, and that energy infrastructure in both Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions sustained damage.

He wrote on Telegram that the capital’s energy supply situation is extremely challenging, resulting in disruptions to heating and water services.

According to Zelenskyy, the strikes hit a substation linking the Rivne and Khmelnykі nuclear plants to Kyiv, as well as substations in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv and Dnipro, and a kindergarten was partially destroyed.

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