The Kursk region of Russia has made recent battlefield advances in the Kursk region of Russia, threatening Ukrainian supply lines and retaining lands that it hopes to be used as negotiation tips in future negotiations, according to Russian soldiers, Russian military bloggers and military analysts.
Working together, the new influx of North Korean soldiers and well-trained Russian drone units have advanced under the cover of fierce artillery and air fire, allowing Ukrainian soldiers to overwhelm the important Ukrainian position.
“That's true; when we contacted him by phone, Olexi, commander of the Ukrainian Communications Corps fighting in the region, said: “They are wiping us out and moving forward with a group of 50 North Koreans, but there are only six in our position.”
“The decisions are being made here, but I don't know how effective they are,” he said.
If the Ukrainian troops are cut off or forced to retreat, it will be an important setback for Kiev. The invasion of Kursk was a signature operation that boosted morale and embarrassed Russian President Putin, but also retained Russian territory, giving Ukraine a potential negotiation tip in peace negotiations. The moment President Trump is trying to force settlement talks, pulling out could weaken the negotiation position.
The Ukrainian forces first swept across the border in an unexpected attack last summer, covering the unprepared Russian location, securing a roughly 200 square miles of bridgehead around the town of Suda, the Russian town about six miles from the border.
It was the first time a foreign army had crossed into Russian territory since World War II.
Military analysts remain divided over whether the surprising decision to carry out an attack on Russian territory served a useful purpose or was a strategic mistake.
Russian and North Korean soldiers seized about two-thirds of the land lost in the summer, but at a terrible cost, at least 4,000 troops were killed in the battle, according to the Ukraine, South Korea and Western intelligence news.
Ukrainian officials say the attacks have served multiple targets. It demonstrated an overabundance of the fear of Western escalation. Force Russia to divert resources from the Ukraine frontline. And it will probably serve as leverage in future peace negotiations.
Kursk's recent set-off came as Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine stopped Russia's aggressive efforts for months, and largely stabilized their lines.
Three years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin, who has strict control over all Russian information, has not paid any obvious political prices for Kursk's military embarrassment, despite the Kremlin losing thousands of soldiers to drive out the Ukrainians.
As the battle continued, the Russians brought an estimated 12,000 North Koreans to join the battle. North Korea had already supplied Russia with millions of cannon shells. Moscow is all desperately needed: artillery and ballistic missiles.
For months, Russia and North Korean troops have been attacking in some of the most ferocious clashes of the war.
North Korea retreated from the battlefield in January and was forced to reorganize, but soon returned.
Ukrainian President Volodimia Zelensky said on February 8th that “Russia has once again deployed North Korean soldiers along with the military.” All four Ukrainian soldiers said in interviews that the North, along with elite Russian drone units, are pioneers of the latest wave of attacks.
Ukrainian soldiers said North Korea is suitable for fighting wars on the battlefield transformed by the surge in drones. They are still engaged in the same fierce frontal attack that led to so many casualties, but are more cohesive and active.
“The application of North Korea's tactics is constantly improving,” said Andrii, a drone commander fighting at Kursk. They work in better coordination with North Korean artillery forces and are supported by Russian drone operators, he said.
They help Russians break through the Ukrainian border in the western part of Ukraine's pocket, which is located in the western part of Ukraine's pocket, and map the battlefields based on open source data such as satellite images, photographs, photos, photos, photos and more.
Ukrainian soldiers in the battle said their lines were broken south of Krilivka, a small village where enemy forces were able to cross a narrow river in January. Soldiers said they had accumulated quietly, but by early March, they overturned Ukraine's position when they attacked that there were too many North Korea.
The Ukrainian troops retreated in an organized manner along the designated line of defence, Ukrainian soldiers said. The enemy's advance has been stopped for now.
In addition to having an overwhelming edge in the army and firepower, the Russians saturated the battlefield with textile drones. Unlike radio-controlled drones, these are immune to interference as they are controlled by ultratin fiber optic cables, as the pilot leads to the target.
Oleksandr Shyrshyn, battalion commander of the 47th Mechanized Brigade, fighting in Kursk, said it appeared that the Russians had increased the range that drones could fly.
Small Russian attack forces of just a few soldiers can also advance with drones, allowing the pilot to grow even further.
“When they dive in, they're about 200-300 meters from the front line and they start using them from there,” he said.
This allowed Russians and North Koreans to attack more effectively on Ukraine's main supply lines, he said.
That route has long been the target of Russian attacks. When we visited the border this winter, it was littered with debris from blasted armored tanks and other military vehicles that could not safely operate the gauntlet.
The Russians can now keep their path under almost constant fire.
Shasin Daitain said his soldiers were able to hold their position even under increased pressure, but other soldiers said the situation was becoming more difficult by day.
Drone Commander Andri said “The enemy is a strong focus on reducing our logistics, which has an impact on our ability to hold our defense.”
“This was influenced by the number of drones they had and the training of their crew,” he said. “It feels like they've gathered the best crew here, so their numbers are huge.”
“We have losses,” he added. “But we are still performing the tasks assigned to us.”
Liubov Sholudko and Yurii Shyvala contributed to the report.
