As Russia attacks, Ukraine scrambles to dig enough trenches

KYIV — Ukrainian lawmakers fear the army and local authorities are not digging quickly enough or building sufficiently formidable defensive fortifications to withstand an expected Russian offensive in the northeast and southeast of the country.

“We were warning since last summer that you have to construct defensive fortifications on an industrial scale, bringing together the appropriate ministers and local military administrations to build defensive lines fast and make them extremely strong,” opposition lawmaker Rostyslav Pavlenko told POLITICO. 

In the fall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal acknowledged that old defensive structures would need to be renewed and fresh frontline fortifications added in the wake of Ukraine’s underwhelming summer counteroffensive, which yielded only marginal territorial gains after months of fighting.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive partly failed to live up to hopes because Russian forces were so well dug in, and the Ukrainian army was unable to punch through three lines of formidable and well-designed defenses.

Military analysts at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) cautioned before the counteroffensive of what might happen, warning in a May 2023 report that “engineering has proven to be one of the strongest branches of the Russian military. The defenses now constructed, consisting of complex obstacles and field fortifications, will pose a major tactical challenge to Ukrainian offensive operations.”

Now that it’s the Ukrainians facing the prospects of a concerted Russian offensive, the nagging question is whether their defensive lines will be as good as the Russians’ — and whether they’ve left too little time to build in earnest.

“They started building them finally. But this is late. They started really last month,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, an opposition lawmaker and former deputy prime minister in the administration of former President Petro Poroshenko.

Oleh Syniehubov, governor of Kharkiv Oblast, told POLITICO: “We started building and overhauling defense fortifications only on March 1.” He said he couldn’t say when they would be completed. “The fortifications have a complex purpose and will consist of barriers able to stop armor and minefields,” he said. 

A former senior field commander told POLITICO he’s worried that Ukraine doesn’t have enough mines available for the new fortifications — nor enough mobilized soldiers to properly man them. He was granted a request for anonymity to be able to speak freely.

In November, Zelenskyy discussed with army chiefs the necessity of a significant expansion of fortifications, but it wasn’t until February that Shmyhal announced $524 million in funding for their construction, with other sources contributing an additional $280 million.

“Now the money is available,” said Pavlenko. “But now it is a matter putting the money into concrete.” On a recent tour — he declined to say where exactly for security reasons — he was disappointed with both the pace and the materials being used.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy inspected some fortifications in the Sumy region, a couple hours northeast of Kyiv.

What has added to parliamentary agitation is the recent appointment of a former presidential aide, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, as an adviser to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. He resigned in January 2023 amid a flurry of corruption allegations.

“We’ve asked why a man who was dismissed in what was billed as an anti-corruption drive has resurfaced at the defense ministry at such a time,” said Pavlenko.

Pavlenko said Ukraine needs to build strong defensive fortifications because Russia is now using powerful gliding bombs that are causing immense damage on the frontlines and some fear tilting the military balance.

The 1.5-ton FAB-1500 bomb is a conversion of an old Soviet-era weapon. It is delivered by fighter jets some 70 kilometers from the target then directed by a guidance system and uses pop-out wings to glide toward its target.

FAB bombs were used in the recent Russian offensive in the Donetsk region and played havoc with defenses at Avdiivka, a town in eastern Ukraine that fell to Russia last month.

“We will need very deep fortifications to withstand these aerial guided bombs,” Pavlenko said.

“The Russians fortify whenever and wherever possible, regardless of whether they’re on the offensive, and that is sound war logic,” he added.