According to the military, this will be one of the decisive factors in the success or failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive announced for the spring. Will the kyiv troops be able to break through the lines of fortifications built by forced march by the Russians on the front line? Will their armored vehicles manage to cross the innumerable trenches and minefields set up by Moscow to hinder their progress? “The ability of the Ukrainians to ‘breach’ the Russian defense lines, like conversely that of the Russians to hold them, will be decisive for the continuation of the conflict”believes Léo Péria-Peigné, researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
Begun in the summer, with the construction of the first lines of defense around Mariupol and Donetsk, the Russian fortification campaign has intensified in recent months. From now on, most of the main roads and railways located in the territories occupied by the forces of Moscow are protected by trenches and anti-tank mines. Tens of thousands of concrete and steel cones, called “dragon’s teeth” and intended to prevent the progression of armored vehicles, were also placed on the ground.
Initially concentrated on the front line, in particular on the banks of the Dnieper river and in the Donbass, these devices are now built in depth. Satellite images released on April 3 by the washington post thus show dozens of trenches dug in recent weeks in Crimea, yet under Russian control since 2014. The isthmus located to the north of this territory, less than ten kilometers wide and blocking access to the peninsula, has been particularly fortified. But lines of defense were also erected on the coasts. A sign of the feverishness of Moscow, which no longer seems to exclude a Ukrainian attack in Crimea, including by an amphibious maneuver.
” War of attrition “
This multiplication of fortifications was decided by Moscow after the success of the Ukrainian counter-offensive led in the Kharkiv region at the end of the summer. In about ten days, mechanized troops from kyiv had succeeded in breaking through the Russian lines, which were then content to occupy the villages, and regained 3,000 km2 of their territory. It took a natural obstacle, the Oskil River, to slow their progress and allow Vladimir Putin’s soldiers to redeploy their device. Without it, the Ukrainians would undoubtedly have gone further.
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