Ukraine said on Friday it could not confirm that Russia had used North Korean missiles for attacks after Washington accused Moscow of using weapons provided by Pyongyang.
Residents of Belgorod in southern Russia were meanwhile urged to tape their windows for added protection during escalating Ukrainian shelling, signalling how the war is being felt by Russians despite Kremlin reassurances.
The White House said late Thursday that Russia was using North Korean weapons and was also seeking missiles from its ally Iran, as it burns through stockpiles of key munitions.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby described the deliveries as a "significant and concerning escalation" but Ukraine said it had no independent evidence.
"So far, we have no information that such missiles have been used. The United States made a statement to that effect," Ukraine's air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat told state media.
"So experts will study the wreckage, and then we can say whether this is a fact or not. I can't confirm it yet," he added.
In the grinding war of attrition, which the Kremlin had hoped would conclude in days, Kyiv and Moscow have struggled to refill stockpiles of artillery shells, drones and long-range missiles.
Belgorod braces for attacks
The Pyongyang-supplied missiles with a range of around 900 kilometres (550 miles) were fired by Russia in two attacks on Ukraine within the past week, Kirby said.
He said at least one of the North Korean-supplied missiles had landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region on December 30.
It is one of four regions that the Kremlin claimed to have annexed in September 2022 but still does not control entirely.
Moscow's forces then fired "multiple" ballistic missiles into Ukraine as part of a mass aerial attack on January 2, he added.
Russia rained down missiles on Ukraine's two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv, on that date. Ukraine hit back at the Russian border city of Belgorod, forcing schools to close.
The Kremlin has tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy on the home front, but recent deadly strikes on Belgorod have brought the Ukraine conflict closer to Russians.
Belgorod city hall issued instructions on taping windows after schools near the Ukrainian border in the region were ordered to extend their winter holidays due to the threat of attacks.
"This is a good way to protect them from the blast wave. The glass will not shatter into small fragments," it said, sharing an infographic on how best to apply the tape.
The measure was adopted by Ukrainians across the country shortly after Russia invaded in February 2022 and launched systematic strikes on towns and cities.
Ukraine drone barrage
Authorities said Ukrainian shelling in Belgograd less than a week ago killed 25 people. It was the worst attack on Russian civilians since the conflict began.
Kirby said the North Korean missiles underscored the need for the U.S. Congress to pass a package of major military aid for Ukraine, without which the pipeline of support will soon run dry, he added.
Air defences for Ukraine, which has come under a barrage of aerial attacks by Russia in recent days, were "absolutely" a priority, he said.
The United States said in October that North Korea had delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia, but it was the first time it had reported the use of such weapons.
Ukraine has substantially boosted its air defence systems compared to last winter, when systematic Russian strikes on energy infrastructure left millions in the cold and dark for extended periods.
Its air force said Friday that Russia had launched nearly 30 Iranian-designed attack drones overnight, but that 21 had been downed.
Russia's defence ministry said its forces had repelled a Ukrainian attack over Crimea, shooting down 36 drones over the peninsula annexed in 2014.
It also said it had shot down a long-range Ukrainian missile over the Black Sea later Friday.
Kyiv has struck the Russian-controlled territory throughout the war, launching missiles and drones at Sevastopol, Crimea's largest city, in a bid to suppress Russia's Black Sea naval fleet.
Ukraine's prosecutor general meanwhile said that Russian shelling in the partially-occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine had injured four people.
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