Zelensky: Russia Fires North Korean Missiles at Zaporizhzhia
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- Zelensky said Russia struck Zaporizhzhia with North Korean ballistic missiles, killing at least 6 and injuring 19, claiming it was the first time Russia "cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea."
- Zelensky warned over the weekend that as many as 50,000 North Korean soldiers were being deployed to fight alongside Russian forces.
- Ukraine's drone strikes on the Russian republic of Tatarstan — more than 1,100 km from the border — killed at least 13, including one child, and injured 75, hitting the Tanevo oil refinery in one of the deadliest single attacks on Russia since the 2022 invasion.
- Russia fired 120 drones and a range of missiles overnight, but Ukrainian officials declined for the first time to disclose how many missiles were launched or intercepted, following an Air Force statement urging media against "sensationalised headlines" on air defence interceptor shortages.
- Wildberries warehouses in Russia's Voronezh region were hit by Ukrainian drones, with the online retailer — repeatedly targeted in recent weeks — confirming its facilities had been evacuated.
- Russia struck substations in Kherson and Kharkiv, causing power outages, and damaged a hospital in Kyiv where staff and patients had been sheltering; the Uzbek consulate confirmed seven of the Tatarstan dead were Uzbek citizens.
Why it matters: Zelensky's confirmation of North Korean missile use marks a new escalation in foreign involvement on Russia's side, while Ukraine's growing strike reach — hitting an oil refinery 1,100 km inside Russia — shows Kyiv's retaliatory capability despite the air-defence shortage its Air Force is now actively trying to suppress from coverage.
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