Day 1098 On 25 February, there are a lot of interesting updates from the Kursk direction. Here, as Ukrainians have ensured that any Russian operations to resupply the besieged North Koreans would end in complete failure, Russians launched a multi-vectored assault, hoping to break the North Koreans out instead. However, as Russians moved into position under the cover of darkness, Ukrainians unleashed a rain of cluster munitions, ensuring that it would be a night Russians would never forget.

The new goal of the Russian forces in this area was to try and link up with North Korean forces stuck in Nikolske to break them out. The previous attempts to resupply them had failed, and the North Koreans were running out of supplies more and more with each passing day, forcing Russians to attempt to lift the siege instead.

To achieve this, Russian forces prepared a two-pronged assault on Viktorovka. A southern infiltration force would strike at night to surprise Ukrainian defenders and engage them in close-quarters combat. By day, a mechanized assault from the north would provide fire support to the infantry. Capturing Viktorovka would help reestablish secure supply lines with allies in Nikolske and potentially set the stage for future assaults on Ukraine’s main defensive line behind the Loknya River.

On the southern axis, Russian forces would infiltrate through interconnected tree lines with infantry, concealing their movement from Ukrainian observation at night.

These tree lines led directly to settlements west of the river, allowing Russian troops to launch surprise attacks. Meanwhile, the northern pincer, composed of mechanized units, moved along forest edges to avoid detection. The Russian strategy hoped that the initial nightly infiltration assault would divert Ukrainian attention enough for the armor to reinforce them during the day, while also using the forest’s cover to shield against Ukrainian ATGMs.

However, the Russian plan quickly unraveled. On the southern flank, Ukrainian drone operators used thermal cameras to detect soldiers moving through the tree lines at night, negating their concealment. On the northern flank, Ukrainian drones maintained constant reconnaissance near Kruglenkoe, regardless of any battles in the settlements, quickly spotting Russian vehicles moving along the forest’s edge. Additionally, a shortage of reserves forced Russians to incorporate North Korean soldiers into the assault, undermining their cohesion due to the language barrier.

Geolocated combat footage from the southern attack vector reveals how the Russian and North Korean forces were detected with thermal cameras as soon as they started moving through the tree line. Ukrainians quickly relayed the coordinates to artillery crews, waiting till the Russians entered a less-dense part of the tree line where there was less cover to shield them before unleashing a devastating artillery barrage with cluster munitions, completely eradicating the Russian surprise infiltration assault in seconds.

Despite their southern assault being decimated, Russian forces pressed on with their northern mechanized attack. Staying out of sight of Ukrainian Javelins, they were instead met with swarms of FPV kamikaze drones carrying anti-tank munitions, which devastated the assault. Footage reveals Russian and North Korean soldiers frequently grouping together, likely due to communication issues, as they were forced to improvise amid the chaos. However, this made them easy targets for Ukrainian artillery, eliminating large groupings with single shells.

After seeing yet another failed assault to break them out, several more North Korean soldiers lost faith in their Russian allies' ability to lift the siege, again attempting to make a run for it while the Ukrainians were distracted by the northern assault. The Ukrainians had enough drones to go around, as they hunted down the North Koreans trying to escape the pocket. Notably, many North Korean soldiers showed signs of exhaustion, as they often stumbled and were moving much slower than before, indicating that North Koreans are on the brink, and might soon surrender on masse for the first time in the war. Overall, the Russians launched a disastrous assault, hoping to break the siege on the now desperate North Korean soldiers stuck in Nikolske. Ukrainian vigilance proved key in winning the battle, eliminating them with cluster munitions and precision drone strikes. The fact that Russians are incorporating North Koreans again into their assault formations indicates that they are running dangerously low on reserves, as these incorporations further lower the combat effectiveness of these groupings. In our daily frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Read also:

• Frontline report: Russians, North Koreans trapped in Kursk’s Nikolskii as resupply attempts intercepted
• Frontline report: Ukraine shatters Russia’s show of force at Velyka Novosilka as Pokrovsk offensive stalled
• Frontline report: Ukraine’s ambush crushes Russians racing to save North Koreans trapped without supplies in Kursk