Trenches, mines, dragon’s teeth … How the Russians prepared for the Ukrainian counterattack
Dragon teeth to counter tiger tanks? And while the Ukrainian army has launched attacks on several sectors of the front in recent days, the fighting promises to be fierce against the entrenched Russians. Available satellite images allow us to identify their lines of defense and understand how they are organized.
And a French military source explained, last week, to Agence France-Presse, that the Russian defense system extended at a depth of more than thirty kilometers, from the first line to the command posts, in depth.
there BBC I was able to analyze a sample of these canines around the town of Tokmak in Zaporijjia region (southeast). If the Ukrainians decided to launch an offensive there, they would have to cross in succession: an anti-tank ditch, a triple line of “dragon’s teeth” – these anti-tank obstacles in the shape of a pyramid – and a network of trenches. All under Russian artillery fire.
“We are far from the line of intensities of the two world wars, but a well-established Russian outpost can reach several kilometers away. Worse, in certain areas, such as the Zaporizhia province, there is a second parallel outpost five and six kilometers behind,” military historian Michel Goya wrote at the end April in his blog. Also note the possible presence of minefields between each line.
Southeast, the best-defended sector
An impressive device on paper, but it’s not unified. If we exclude the Kherson region in the extreme south of the country, which has been flooded since the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, then the front is divided into three parts: the Zaporizhia region (southeast), Donetsk (east) and Luhansk. (Northeast).
Zaporizhia Province was the most peaceful area since the Russian invasion, so Moscow had more time to build up its fortifications. Moreover, it is a major strategic target for the Ukrainians. It is therefore the best sector in terms of defense.” Near Donetsk, where the fighting was most intense, the Russians had less time to strengthen their defences.
As for the Luhansk region, it is currently the least protected sector. Ironically, it is the only area on the front that has not come under Ukrainian attack in recent days. But this does not mean that the region is not in the sights of the Kiev powers. The recent skirmishes in the southeast and in Bakhmut could serve as a decoy before a major offensive in the north of the country.
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