The Ukrainian state is actively working on the construction of fortifications, along 2,000 kilometers, which form three defense lines. These fortifications are deployed in different parts of the country and reflect modern methods. Find out more about these defense lines and why the decision was made to start construction

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On March 11, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff to discuss pressing issues such as the situation at the front, armaments, and the construction of defensive fortifications.  The head of state announced this in his Telegram.

Large-scale defense construction in Ukraine: details

One of the key topics of the meeting was the construction of fortifications. In particular, the defense of three 2,000-kilometer-long strips was identified as a large-scale task.

According to the information, Zelensky received detailed reports from the command on the situation on the battlefield, including reports from Chief of the Army Oleksandr Syrskyi, Chief of the General Staff Anatoliy Bargylevych, and local commanders. Various areas were discussed, including the Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Maryinka, Pivdenne, and Southern sectors, as well as marine operations.

In addition, they reported on the provision of the frontline with the necessary resources.

What are military fortifications? 

The defense line is a system of military fortifications that are installed at a certain distance from the front line and are intended to defend the territory. It includes several defense lanes.

The first lane is the "foothills" and may include minefields, barbed wire obstacles, anti-tank ditches, and concrete structures.

The main line of defense consists of reinforced concrete and granite DOTs (durable defensive points), DZOTs (wood and earth defensive points), trenches, dugouts, dugouts, and machine gun nests.

Outside the main line of defense, there may be a reserve lane and artillery positions.

Such a three-level system of fortifications has become a classic example, such as the Surovikin Line, built by russian troops in the occupied territory of parts of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions over six months from October 2022 to spring 2023.

As you know, Ukraine has been building its defense lines since 2015 along the contact line in the East. However, they were not as large-scale and were not located in the areas where the fighting is currently taking place.

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Why did Ukraine decide to start building 2,000 kilometers of fortifications?

As you know, after the failure of the offensive at the end of last year, the Ukrainian army switched to strategic defense.  This means that attention will be focused on building large-scale defense lines. However, Kyiv has found serious problems with this issue, BBC reports.

Soldiers, military experts, analysts, and politicians are talking about the lack of preparation and quality of Ukrainian defense lines. The parliamentary opposition is demanding a report from the prime minister on the "failed program of building fortifications" and an investigation into it.

However, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announces the allocation of a record 20 billion hryvnias since the beginning of the year to create defense lines and intensify these works.

Following the publicity about the poor state of Ukrainian defenses, this process accelerated significantly: military units and regional administrations began publishing photo reports of trench digging and dugouts almost daily, and a "non-public curator" from the government began to manage this process.

In fact, the absence of a defense line on the border allowed russian troops to rapidly occupy most of Luhansk region and advance deeper into the region at the beginning of the invasion in 2022.

In other parts of the front, particularly in the south of Donetsk region, Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat from the first line of defense to the second under enemy pressure, but a third line of defense was not prepared.

A BBC source in the Engineer Command also notes that the defensive lines that had been built since 2015 proved to be irrelevant at the start of a full-scale war, as the russian army had actually bypassed them and entered the rear of the Ukrainian army in many parts of the front. In fact, the last "old" defense lines were Maryinka and Avdiivka, which fell earlier this year under russian pressure.

Now Ukraine is accelerating its efforts to build a new line of defense, primarily in the most threatened areas - near Zaporizhzhia, in western Donetsk, as well as near Kupyansk and along the eastern border with russia.

We remind you! russian special services are conducting a special operation to destabilise the situation in Ukraine. The operation is called Maidan-3. We will tell you when to expect its culmination and how it should end, according to the russians' plans.

Photo: president.gov.ua

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