"Liquid and primitive trenches": NYT learned about problems in the defense of the Armed Forces of Avdiivka (map)
Equally important is the weak preparation of defense lines west of the city, writes The New York Times after the Planet Labs Satellite Phone Analysis. This allows the Russian invaders to move further. The Armed Forces Defense Line from Avdiivka consisted of quite rare and primitive trenches, which had no additional fortifications to slow down the course of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, protection of major roads and important positions.
For the most part, these were elementary earthen fortifications, often with a connecting trench, which the infantry gets to the enemy of fire positions, but nothing more. American officials are concerned that Kiev has not strengthened the defensive lines in advance and qualitatively. There are now possible consequences, as Russian troops are slow, but with constancy they are moving behind Avdiivka. "The Ukrainian command had enough time to prepare defense outside Avdiivka.
This area has been attacking since 2014, Ukraine has been holding it up since two years ago, Russia began a full -scale invasion," the newspaper says. The difference in approaches to the defense of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation especially catches the eye. Russian fortifications near the southern village of Verbovoy show a completely different picture, the authors of the material emphasize.
The concentric rings of fortifications begin with a fairly wide trenches to trap tanks and armored vehicles. After that, there is a cement obstacle network - "Dragon Teeth" to stop the technique. In the end there is a large trench for infantry. According to government officials and military experts from the United States, the Ukrainian command may have focused too much on the offensive in 2023.
Because of this, the necessary resources for the construction of numerous trenches and tank traps that Russian engineers have built since the end of 2022 in the south of the country have not been allocated. The second option is a psychological element. If the Armed Forces were severely replaced by certain areas to prevent Russia's offensive, it would be a silent recognition that they are unlikely to have an offensive in the same area in the future.
The responsibility for the construction of the first line of defense will lie to the military units stationed in the area, and subsequent defense lines will be built by civilian authorities with the help of private contractors, writes NYT. "Delays in the construction of fortifications mean that Ukrainian troops will now have to strengthen their defensive lines, being under the fire of the Russian army, which significantly complicates the task," the journalists summed up.