At Least 12 Killed as Zelenskyy Says Russia Used North Korean Missiles

Russian attacks killed at least 12 people across Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow used North Korean ballistic missiles in Zaporizhzhia.

Six people were killed and 20 wounded in Zaporizhzhia, according to Reuters. Zelenskyy initially reported 19 wounded, and regional authorities later raised the count.

The president said Russia targeted the southeastern city with North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircon missiles and guided aerial bombs, noting that it was a “vicious attack” on civilian infrastructure. He added that firefighters continued working at the site of one of the impacts.

Zaporizhzhia regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said the strikes hit industrial facilities and infrastructure and damaged a garage cooperative and residential buildings, Euronews reported.

Ukrainian officials reported six additional deaths and 16 injuries in the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions. In Dnipropetrovsk, three people were killed, including a 15-year-old boy, and five others were wounded, according to regional authorities.

In Kyiv, a missile damaged a building at an infectious diseases hospital and nearby businesses, Zelenskyy said. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital came under ballistic missile attack, and city officials reported at least one person wounded.

Zelenskyy said Russian attacks hit substations in Kherson and Kharkiv, causing power outages. He said the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions also came under attack.

Russia launched more than 120 drones alongside the missiles, most of them jet-powered Shahed-type drones, according to Zelenskyy.

Russia Reports Large Ukrainian Drone Barrage

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Russian forces struck military-related logistics warehouses in the Kyiv region and the Zaporizhstal steelworks in Zaporizhzhia. It also claimed that Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 396 Ukrainian drones over 15 regions.

Zelenskyy Calls for Sanctions and Air Defense

Zelenskyy said Russia’s increased ballistic missile production, use of North Korean equipment and preparations for mobilization showed Moscow was “preparing not for peace, but for escalation.” He urged Ukraine’s partners to tighten sanctions on enterprises supporting the war and send more air defense systems.

Zelenskyy also said Russia had received additional ballistic missiles from Pyongyang and would receive 30,000 to 50,000 more North Korean troops. He did not disclose the source of those figures.

Russia and North Korea acknowledged in April 2025 that North Korean troops had fought Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, the Associated Press reported. Both governments have denied arms transfers that would violate U.N. sanctions.

Ukraine relies on a limited number of systems, including U.S.-made Patriot batteries, to counter ballistic missiles. Deliveries of missile interceptors to Ukraine this year were running at about one-third of the 2025 level, Reuters reported Aug. 5.

Ukraine Targets Logistics Sites Inside Russia

Ukraine has continued long-range drone strikes inside Russia, including attacks on nearly two dozen logistics centers belonging to Wildberries since mid-July, The Moscow Times reported.

Kyiv accuses Russia’s largest online retailer of supplying drone parts and other equipment to the Russian military. Wildberries has denied the allegation.

NATO and U.S. Support for Ukraine

At its 2026 Ankara summit, NATO said allies pledged 70 billion euros in military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine this year and at least the same level in 2027. The alliance said members and partners also committed more than $6 billion to purchasing U.S.-made equipment for Ukraine.

U.S. European Command has begun shifting parts of the Ukraine support mission to European allies. On Aug. 3, Lt. Gen. Curtis Buzzard transferred command of the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine and NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine to Lt. Gen. Guillaume Beaurpere in Wiesbaden, Germany, Stars and Stripes reported.

U.S. European Command said the reorganization “will not impact U.S. support for Ukraine.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would intensify efforts in the coming weeks to revive negotiations, although Moscow and Kyiv remained far apart, European Pravda reported. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have agreed to visit Ukraine, but officials had not announced a date as of Tuesday.

The U.S. Senate voted 86-11 on Aug. 7 to pass a sweeping Russia sanctions bill. The House had not acted on the measure as of Tuesday.