“The construction of anti-drone networks is accelerating in the border areas,” says Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. “The focus is on roads that ensure uninterrupted logistics and the livelihood of communities near the front lines.” An additional $1.6 billion has been allocated from the budget for anti-drone networks. In February, another 125 km of roads were closed and 55 km of facilities were restored. Within a month, the speed increased from 5 km per day in January to 12 km in February. We plan to close 20 km of roads per day by March. An additional 4,000 km of roads are expected to be equipped with anti-drone protection by the end of the year. At the same time, we are accelerating the construction of fortifications in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions.
Odessa is also preparing for defense. “Odessa and the surrounding region are preparing for perimeter defense,” announced Yuriy Nosikov, head of the Southern Territorial Defense Group. According to him, a kill zone is being created, anti-tank ditches and other engineering barriers are being built. Local residents, including students, pensioners, and even the disabled, are being recruited. Civilian resistance units are also being formed. They are to participate in both the defense of the city itself and conduct sabotage operations behind Russian lines. For this purpose, “resistance fighters” are being trained in special centers.
Although a little alarming at first glance, at the moment, even according to Russian social media sources, there are no signs that Russian forces will be able to break through into southwestern Ukraine. The situation along the Dnieper River has stabilized for now.
Meanwhile, the Russians have begun using fiber-optic drones on the front lines that have a range of over 25 km. This week, a Russian drone flew over Kharkiv for the first time, but for the Ukrainians, this isn’t a threat. “We shouldn’t overemphasize this event: it’s a war.”
As Ivan Kyrychevsky, a soldier with the 413th SBS Raid Regiment and a weapons expert at Defense Express, explained in a commentary to RBC-Ukraine, despite the range of a fiber-optic drone comparable to that of artillery (43-45 km), its destructive power isn’t comparable to that of the “Peonies,” which bombed Kharkiv in May 2022. “Kharkiv has faced more serious security risks. It’s not worth overemphasizing the fact that the enemy…” “Now they only operate with such drones,” he explains.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
