UN confirms that Russia violated sanctions and hit Kharkiv with North Korean missile

The United Nations sanctions envoys to North Korea have confirmed that Russia hit Kharkiv with a North Korean Hwasong-11 ballistic missile on 2 January, in direct violation of Security Council sanctions.

Source: European Pravda citing Reuters

Details: The 32-page report, presented to one of the Security Council's committees, states that "debris recovered from a missile that landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on 2 January 2024 derives from a DPRK Hwasong-11 series missile" and indicates a violation of the arms embargo on the supply of weapons to and from North Korea.

Three sanctions commissioners visited Ukraine in early April to examine the wreckage and found no evidence that the missile was manufactured in Russia.

The report states that the UN experts "could not independently identify from where the missile was launched, nor by whom". But the information provided by the Ukrainian side "indicates it was launched within the territory of the Russian Federation".

"Such a location, if the missile was under control of Russian forces, would probably indicate procurement by nationals of the Russian Federation," the report states.

North Korea has been under UN Security Council sanctions since 2006, which include a ban on the import and export of military technology, due to the country's nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

Russia vetoed the annual extension of the mandate of the UN sanctions observers, which had been in place for the past 15 years, at the Security Council meeting in March. The mandate of the current group of experts expires on Tuesday, 30 April.

The United States is concerned that the "strong embrace" between Russia and North Korea could push DPRK leader Kim Jong Un to take risks in threatening South Korea, exporting arms and ignoring calls for nuclear talks.

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