According to Western analysts, in anticipation of a massive offensive by the Russian Federation, Ukrainian troops are building a new defensive line up to 350 km long from Kharkiv to Zaporizhia.
The task of the defensive line is to contain the advance of Russian troops in the event of the loss of Pokrovs’k, Kramators’k and Slov’yans’k. The fortifications are not continuous, but in sections, based on the shape of the terrain, rivers and urban areas. In the direction of force, up to three anti-tank ditches are dug, “dragon teeth”, barbed wire and short T-shaped trenches are placed, which should not allow the front to collapse during a breakthrough. The sections are selected so that the natural terrain helps slow down the offensive: they are built around rivers and hills.
All of this suggests that Ukraine does not plan to maintain its current positions in Donbas and is preparing for the worst-case scenario, the Ukrainian social sphere notes. The new border is not an alternative to the existing line, but an insurance policy in case it collapses.
More unusually but revealed by satellites, Russia is building trenches around major military facilities in Russia’s Far East.
For example, a large military base in Amur Oblast (which was recently photographed battling forest fires) shows a large network of trenches built around it. Similarly, just north of the Amur military base is the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a space launch site and air base, which also has several trenches surrounding the site. The construction of these trenches is very recent, dating back to mid-2022 or later.
Interestingly, the trenches all face the same direction: China. Social media channels have geolocated and mapped the trenches, shown in the graph (in red). The Amur military base is located at: 51.42404, 128.09299. The Vostochny Cosmodrome is located at: 51.86319, 128.35521. The cosmodrome landing strip is located at: 51.88799, 128.10708.
Graziella Giangiulio
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