Ukraine cannot confirm if Russia used N. Korean missiles

Ukraine said it could not confirm that Russia had used North Korean missiles for attacks after Washington accused Moscow of using weapons provided by Pyongyang.

Ukraine said 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.