Russia has launched into Ukrainian territory ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea, according to U.S. intelligence.
It came as Moscow also appeared poised to obtain similar weapons from Iran.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Pyongyang has provided Russia with both ballistic missile launchers and several missiles.
He said: ‘This is a significant and concerning escalation.’
White House national security spokesman John Kirby shows how North Korean ballistic missiles were fired by Russia into Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during a meeting in Vladivostok, Russia on April 25, 2019
An image released by North Korea shows what it says was a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile from an undisclosed location
Russian forces fired at least one of the North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine on December 30.
It launched multiple North Korean ballistic missiles on January 2 as part of an overnight attack.
The missile launched on December 30 landed harmlessly and ‘thankfully all it did was put a hole in a field,’ Kirby said.
He said the impact of the missiles fired several days later was still being assessed.
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