Suddenly the Ukrainian Armed Forces realize that trenches and defensive lines in case of retreat are necessary. When Valerij Zalužnyj asked forcefully, he was always told no. According to foreign military advisors – the United Kingdom, the United States and France – they were not necessary because Kiev would have won hands down.
Now the Ukrainian military, Ukrainian officials and directors of Ukrainian construction companies have told AP News about the lack of defensive lines in the rear designed to provide cover for retreating Ukrainian troops.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine has no defense lines in the rear that could serve as cover for retreating troops,” Ukrainian military personnel and officials told the Associated Press. According to the military, before the Russian army began the offensive it was necessary to build fortified lines.”
“They approached it irresponsibly… People didn’t understand that fortifications could have saved lives if done early. Many thought that we would not need to set up such lines of defense. They did not expect a new Russian offensive,” said the deputy commander of the 47th brigade stationed in the Avdiivka area.
A soldier from the 67th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which occupies positions in the Khasiv Yar area, said that when moving to new positions, the soldiers “expected to see shelters, a maze of trenches and firing positions, but they found a series of holes, barely large enough to hide during artillery bombardment.” For this reason the brigade suffered heavy losses during the retreat.
This year, Ukraine has allocated almost 38 billion hryvnia ($960 million) for the construction of a vast network of fortifications. According to AP, the first line of fortifications was necessarily built by the Ukrainian military themselves, while simultaneously participating in the battles.
The construction of the second line, 2-5 km behind the front line and within range of Russian artillery, is the responsibility of Ukrainian engineering forces, which are poorly equipped. The third line is built by companies with military contracts.
It is no coincidence that the Russians in recent weeks in their aerial bombings have been ferocious against the Ukrainian rear, ammunition warehouses, airports and power plants, the objective even for the layman is to isolate the military from the Central Command and leave them without weapons, so once the ammunition they have with them has run out they have only one alternative: surrender or die.
At the moment the only advantage that the Ukrainians have and only in some areas is the high number of drones and that, given the speed with which the Russians manage to learn from their mistakes, is an advantage that will not last long. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to move the remaining soldiers from one front to another with the hope that planes and ammunition will arrive in the meantime but now it seems that when they arrive, it will be late.
Graziella Giangiulio
