Ukraine builds barricades, digs trenches as focus shifts to defence against Russian forces
- Ukraine steps up construction of fortifications as troops switch to a more defensive footing
- Shift follows Ukraine counteroffensive that was unable to rapidly punch through Russian lines
Rows of white concrete barricades and coils of razor wire stretch across an open field for more than a kilometre. Trenches with rudimentary living quarters are being dug under cover of darkness. Artillery rumbles not far away.
New defensive lines visited by Reuters near the northeastern city of Kupiansk on December 28 show how Ukraine has stepped up construction of fortifications in recent months as it shifts its military operations against Russia to a more defensive footing.
The defences, which bear some similarities to those rolled out in the Russian-occupied south and east, aim to help Ukraine weather assaults while regenerating its forces as Moscow takes the battlefield initiative, military analysts said.
“As soon as the troops are moving, traversing fields, you can do without fortifications. But when the troops stop, you need to immediately dig into the ground,” a Ukrainian army engineer with the call sign Lynx told Reuters near Kupiansk.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine was “significantly enhancing” fortifications on November 28 after a counteroffensive that it launched in June was unable to rapidly punch through Russian lines.