Zelensky claims North Korean missile used in devastating Kyiv attack which left 12 people dead and dozens injured contained 'American components'
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed the North Korean missile used to destroy part of Kyiv in a devastating overnight attack that left 12 dead and dozens injured contained American components.
Russia attacked Kyiv with an hourslong barrage of missiles and drones on Wednesday night in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since last July, just as peace efforts are coming to a head.
After Zelensky initially revealed the attack had been carried out with a North Korean missile, he took to Telegram today to accuse American companies of supplying components for the offensive weapon.
'The missile that killed the people of Kyiv contained at least 116 components imported from other countries, and most of them, unfortunately, were manufactured by American companies', he said.
He added: 'The lack of pressure on Russia allows them to import such missiles and other weapons and use them here in Europe. The lack of pressure on North Korea and its accomplices allows them to produce, in particular, such ballistic missiles.'
It comes after US president Donald Trump said he was 'not happy' that Vladimir Putin launched a deadly barrage of missile strikes on Kyiv after talks to reach a peace deal failed.
'I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,' he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump urged his Russian counterpart: 'Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!'
Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) has claimed that the North Korean missile that was used to destroy part of Kyiv in a devastating overnight attack contained American components
Search and rescue operations at the site of the Russian attack on a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 25, 2025
An explosion of a ballistic missile lights up the sky over the city during a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 24, 2025
Trump's frustration with Putin is growing as a US-led effort to get a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia has not made progress.
Zelensky said that the large-scale missile attack that saw 200 missiles and drones get sent to Kyiv was designed to put 'pressure' on the United States.
'There must be real pressure on Russia to stop this. Even in the midst of international diplomatic efforts to end this war, Russia continues killing civilians. That means Putin is not afraid', he said.
He noted that Ukraine had agreed to a US ceasefire proposal 44 days ago as a first step to a negotiated peace, but that Moscow's attacks had continued.
Zelensky also insisted that Kyiv would not change its position on Crimea, after Trump criticised him for not agreeing to cede the Black Sea peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
When asked about the Russian strikes on Kyiv at a briefing earlier on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was continuing to hit 'military and military-adjacent targets.'
The Kremlin fired 66 ballistic and cruise missiles, four plane-launched air-to-surface missiles, and 145 Shahed and decoy drones at Kyiv and four other regions of Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Kyiv reeled from the bombardment, which kept residents on edge for about 11 hours. Zelensky called the fatal attack 'one of the most sophisticated, most brazen' during Russia's three-year invasion.
The moment of the explosion said to have killed Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces
Russian media circulated the purported scene of the explosion in Moscow region on Friday
Russian investigators confirmed the death of Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for what appeared to be a deliberate attack.
But the Kremlin accused Ukraine of being behind the attack, saying that if Ukrainian involvement is confirmed, it would be a sign of Kyiv's 'barbaric' nature and suggesting Ukraine was 'escalating' in an effort to ruin ceasefire talks.
'There are reasons to believe that Ukraine's special services were involved in the murder,' Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement, without providing evidence.
Footage showed a powerful blast destroying a Volkswagen Golf at around 10.40am local time (7.40am GMT), which reports said 'threw the general several metres away'.
Elderly civilians are evacuated from Donetsk Oblast amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine on April 25, 2025
Ukrainians are leaving the country in their droves
The elderly are particularly vulnerable to the invasion
Russian media outlet Baza, which has sources in Russia's law enforcement agencies, said a bomb in a parked car on Bulvar Nesterova had been detonated remotely when the officer - who lived locally - walked past.
The explosion occurred as US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin - coloured by a recent flurry of attacks on Kyiv that drew ire from Trump on Thursday, urging 'Vladimir, STOP!'
Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said earlier today that Moscow was 'ready to reach a deal' with the mediating United States to end the war in Ukraine, adding that some elements of a proposed deal still need to be 'fine tuned'.
Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko broke ranks in suggesting that Ukraine may have to 'temporarily' cede territory for a deal to be made.
The Kremlin will be seeking to appease the US with a show of good faith after the Trump administration threatened to walk away from its intermediary role earlier this week, unless the two sides can come to an agreement.
