Russia is preparing to station a missile unit made up of North Korean troops in the Voronezh region, Andrii Cherniak, a representative of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), said on August 5, according to Reuters.

The unit numbers about 90 people and will be folded into Russia's 112th missile brigade, Cherniak said. It could receive up to 120 North Korean ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes on Ukraine, he said, adding that Pyongyang has already sent a new batch of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles to Russia, along with personnel. The final deployment plans and missile count are expected to be worked out during talks next month.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said North Korean launchers would become a legitimate target if Russia deploys them against Ukraine. “First of all, these launchers, if deployed, must be destroyed. They immediately become a legitimate military target, so our military will respond accordingly,” he said.

In late July, Russia used North Korean ballistic missiles to strike Ukraine for the first time in a year, according to Cherniak, who said missiles from the new 40-strong batch were used. A North Korean ballistic missile struck Radushne, near Kryvyi Rih, killing a family with multiple children, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

The reported deployment would mark Pyongyang's deepest involvement yet in Russia's war, moving beyond the artillery shells, troops and labour it has already supplied. North Korea has earned as much as $13bn over the past three years from arms sales, military support and labour deployments to sustain Russia's war effort, underscoring how central the relationship has become to Pyongyang's own economy as well as Moscow's front line.