It is dangerous to retreat: military declares almost complete absence of rear lines of defense - AP
Instead of trenches and trenches at the front, there are sometimes pits that are difficult to hide in, there is a lack of engineering equipment, and defences have to be built under enemy fire.
This was reported by the Associated Press, Censor.NET reports. The agency spoke to dozens of Ukrainian military personnel, officials, and representatives of construction companies, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.
AP writes that Russian troops are better armed than Ukrainian troops, and the lack of ammunition is forcing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to retreat. The firepower gap will be closed thanks to a US aid package. However, the weapons and ammunition have yet to arrive, and until then, Russia will continue to exploit Ukraine's weaknesses.
Construction of fortifications
AP writes that Ukraine has allocated almost 38 billion hryvnias ($960 million) this year for the construction of an extensive fortification network. "Soldiers on the front line claim that this should have happened last year, when Ukraine had the advantage in the battles, and not now in the heat of battle," the publication says.
Russia prepared in advance, built fortifications, and it paid off during the failed Ukrainian counteroffensive last summer. But Ukraine was in no hurry to follow suit. Real progress in the construction of fortifications was made only in the spring of 2024.
"Many thought that we... would not need to prepare such lines. They didn't expect a new Russian offensive," the agency quoted Alexander, deputy commander of the 47th Infantry Brigade, as saying.
He said that Ukrainian soldiers are forced to fight and dig their trenches at the frontline. "It is very difficult to do both," said Oleksandr.
Why does Ukraine have problems with fortifications?
AR writes that the reasons for this date back to the years of independence when Ukraine was downsizing its army. Engineering regiments were disbanded and equipment was sold off.
"We went into the war with nothing," said a member of Ukraine's engineering forces, speaking on condition of anonymity. When he arrived in October to build fortifications in eastern Ukraine, he said, his unit had only old 1960s equipment and shovels. "So we made these trenches," he said.
Pits instead of trenches
A serviceman from the former 67th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that he arrived in mid-March at a position 3 km from Chasiv Yar.
"He was expecting dugouts, a maze of trenches and firing positions, but he found a series of holes barely big enough to hide in during artillery fire," the publication says.
The soldier told how, under fire, "soldiers would come out of the pits and start digging towards each other so that they could have at least some kind of connection. But as soon as a shell hit nearby, the trenches crumbled.
The Ukrainians retreated 2 km back. According to the soldier, the brigade lost more than 100 soldiers. In early April, it was withdrawn, disbanded, and blamed for the losses. The commanders responded that they did not have the resources to succeed.
Fortifications in the rear
The third line of defense is being built by private companies. To speed up construction, they receive contracts without the usual tender process. Even so, it's not easy to find those willing to take on construction.
A contractor from the Sumy region said that he had to contact half a dozen officials to get funding.
The owner of another company supplying concrete for fortifications on the front line said that some local officials report inflated volumes and accelerated work rates, but the reality is not so rosy.
In addition, Russian drones monitor construction work up to the third line and regularly attack workers. In Kharkiv, at least four construction workers have been killed and 10 pieces of equipment destroyed over the past month.
"The enemy sees everything," the newspaper quotes the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Sinehubov, as saying.
