Russia used a North ⁠Korean missile for a strike on a village ⁠that killed five members of the same family, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday, in what would be the first time such a weapon has been fired in the war ​in nearly a year.

Russia pounded Ukraine with dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones in an overnight attack that killed at least nine people, officials said, at a time when the Ukrainian military is grappling with an acute shortage of high-end air defenses.

Russia has launched North Korean missiles at ​Ukrainian ⁠targets before, but their first deployment since August points to a fresh stock of weapons that Moscow can draw on as it steps up missile attacks, a military source told Reuters.

The use of North Korean missiles would fit a pattern in which Russia has been shifting to using more ballistic missiles like its Iskander 9M723, which can only be intercepted by U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, the military source said.

Zelenskyy said one missile flattened a home in the ⁠village ⁠of Radushne near the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing two parents and three of their children. The fate of their remaining four children was unclear, as was that of their 1-1/2-year-old grandson, he said.

In his evening address, Zelenskyy said preliminary data showed the missile used to hit Radushne was North Korean.

Powerful missile

A military source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that Ukrainian radars had picked up two missile tracks characteristic of North Korean KN-23 or KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles flying toward Kryvyi ​Rih during the attack.

Two radar tracks typically indicate four missiles were fired, the source said, adding that other ​impact sites were not known to him.

For a conclusive assessment, investigators needed to study missile fragments found at the site, a process still under way, the source said, adding that he ⁠was nonetheless ‌confident it ‌was a North Korean missile.

Russia began firing North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 ⁠missiles at Ukraine toward the end of 2023. The North Korean ‌missiles have a larger warhead and longer range than Russia's Iskander short-range ballistic missiles, although they are less accurate, the military ​source said.

In 2024, North Korea sent ⁠14,000 troops to help Moscow's forces repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's ⁠Kursk region. It has also supplied millions of artillery shells for the Russian war effort.

Last week, Zelenskyy warned ⁠the Kremlin wanted North ​Korea to send another 30,000 troops and said Russian preparations were underway to receive them in the Voronezh region.