Five lines of trenches, mine fields and "dragon teeth": Armed Forces are preparing for the offensive of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the media
About it writes in The Sunday Times a military correspondent Katherine Pilp, who visited Kupyansk. According to the journalist, the managed Russian bombs devastate the front and cause irreparable damage to the Armed Forces. "Ukrainian soldiers have encountered a new dangerous threat: the so -called managed bombs - modified bombs of Soviet times, equipped with" smart wings "that turn them into controlled missiles.
Damage from aircraft flying over the territory controlled To combat which Ukraine is poorly equipped, at least it would strengthen its fronts as much or slowly, "the correspondent notes. She refers to the words of Maxim Zhorin, the deputy commander of the 3rd Separate assault brigade, who in her telegram-channel described the influence of these ammunition as follows: daily 60-80 fugas bombs are cut into Ukrainian positions in Avdiivka. "These bombs completely destroy any position.
All buildings and structures simply turn into a ditch after only one falls," Georin says. At the same time, the FILP notes, the Ukrainian military still does not lose hope that the new defense network will prevent any enemy offensive.
Not being able to break through a heavily fortified defense of Russia during last year's counter -offensive, Ukraine now builds its own long lines of deep trenches, mine fields and "Dragon teeth" to be trapped by Russian tanks that can try to break through and return the captured territory that was kept in the first year Full -scale war. "Kupyansk, which was occupied by the Russians for more than six months of 2022, is one of these places.
Five lines of trenches, mine fields and" Dragon's teeth "stretched two miles on the front line, where Ukrainian soldiers oppose their Russian opponents" , - the journalist reminds. However, although Ukrainians should provide new combat positions and defense, if they retreat, Filp writes, they still do not compare with 1500 kilograms that destroy the front troops since their first appearance about three months ago.
"The scale of their destructive power was convincingly demonstrated in the battles for Avdiivka," the correspondent states. Out of the northern border of Ukraine with Russia, the construction of new lines of defense is inspected by the chairman of Kharkiv OVA Oleg Synigubov. Although President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky praised Kharkiv's efforts, joint resources to strengthen the front are still not enough.
"This is partly related to political reasons: the construction of defense structures in such frontier cities as the times of ravines located near Bakhmut, is equivalent to the announcement of their loss. , they can turn into actual borders if the support of Ukraine by the event is weakened or its army does not find a way to push them back, " - reminds Kolumnist.
On the entire line of the Eastern Front, from Kharkiv to the north to Donetsk in the south, commanders complain about the lack of live force as opposed to the seeming endless ability of Russia to transfer troops. Despite the death of Wagner PEC, Russia still uses prisoners as the first line of front fighters, suffering enormous losses, but seems to be without much political resonance. "We are not fighting.
My task is to return our soldiers alive, not in parts and not in the coffins," says Ilya, the infantry commander on the Kupyansky Front. Konstantin Vakhramyev, commander of the Kharkiv Battalion of the National Guard, notes that in the wooded area of Kharkiv region, the most reliable weapons are drones. "Ukrainian troops have learned to use drones controlled from the front line, to observe and attack Russian positions. But we will not be able to win this war only with their help," he warns.
The Russian side not only started its own mass production of drones in addition to tens of thousands supplied by China, but also uses the services of Starlink Ilon Mask, directing the import of terminals through places such as Kazakhstan to bypass sanctions. Vakhramyev is less concerned about Russia by several miles of open agricultural land than the fall of cities such as Avdiivka. "It is much more difficult to repel the city. There are buildings, there are cellars from which you can fight.
And it is much more difficult to attack than to defend themselves," he is sure. Russia has drawn its view today at the time of the ravine - the next city in the west, which opens the way to Kramatorsk and further. "The situation is very bad there and is deteriorating every day. The only answer is combat aircraft that can be struck by Russian apparatus themselves," says Vitaliy Ovcharenko, an officer of special forces, stated there.
Filp notes that having lost the preference in the air at the beginning of the invasion, Russia reclaims it by mentioned numerous modified bombs that are discharged by aircraft that do not need to enter the airspace controlled by Ukraine. "At the same time, Ukrainian air defense systems are set to identify the characteristic trajectory of rockets and jet shells, not heavy iron aviation, which is almost impossible to knock down," the correspondent says.
Although the United States finally made a decision to provide Ukraine with F-16 aircraft, training and logistics slowed down the timing of their deployment. "The first tranche, which will come at the end of this year, will probably be ready for the deployment of only six manned planes.