Unfinished defense lines help Russia advance quickly into Ukraine

Ukraine is striving to complete several defense lines that could halt Russia's rapid advance, but according to Ukrainian officials and commanders, these efforts are complicated by delays and a lack of coordination, the Financial Times reports. As of December 2024, the situation on the Ukrainian front lines is characterized by escalating Russian offensives across multiple regions, with significant developments reported in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia. Russian forces have intensified their efforts to capture key locations, including the strategic city of Pokrovsk, which serves as a crucial logistics hub for Ukraine, and Kurakhove, a Ukrainian strongpoint that helps to protect Pokrovsk. This year, Russian forces have achieved stunningly fast successes in Donetsk Oblast, pushing the frontline to as close as 15 km from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border. If the Russians crossed this line, it would mark the first breakthrough into a new Ukrainian region since 2022, delivering a significant blow to Kyiv's military efforts. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast spent $7.3 million on fortifications from November 2023 to November 2024. However, two officials involved in construction in the area stated that there was little to show for the money, and work only began to intensify two months ago.

"A Financial Times reporter visiting areas of Dnipropetrovsk region close to Donetsk last month saw a few prepared positions and an anti-tank ditch but also several positions still under construction or abandoned, unfinished," the article said.

According to a person responsible for fortification construction in Donetsk Oblast, most of the defensive lines in this region, including around major cities, were completed by the end of October. However, there are still gaps in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast between Velyka Novosilka and Kurakhove, as well as between Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, where the second line of fortifications is still under construction and the third has not yet been laid. Military analyst Rob Lee points out that Russian engineering forces have long had the advantage in building fortifications faster and with better quality compared to Ukraine. He added that after capturing Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast Russia was able to advance quickly because Ukraine did not have significant defenses built behind it, which forced Ukrainian forces to retreat. Stanislav Buniatov, commander of an assault battalion, says fortifications are also crucial to provide fallback positions for exhausted infantry. According to him, the combat potential of an infantry fighter will be significantly reduced if they have to expend energy building positions during the day, especially in winter.

"If military engineers were “not sent to assault operations, but allowed to do their job professionally, dig trenches and prepare lines and borders so that we can defend ourselves, then things would work,” Buniatov added.

Earlier, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the “Khortytsia” operational-strategic grouping, said the Russian military concentrated around 150,000 troops along three frontline directions in eastern Ukraine. Despite these numbers, Voloshyn highlighted Russia’s significant losses during its offensives. In November alone, the occupiers suffered over 35,000 casualties (killed and wounded) in the eastern operational zone, with more than 8,000 losses reported in the past week.

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