Ukraine building '600-mile wall of death' to put an end to Putin's invasion
A six-hundred-mile long network of trenches, bunkers and 42,000 “dragon’s teeth” dubbed the “wall of death” has been constructed by Ukraine.
The massive new line of defence is designed to hold off Putin’s forces as Russia gears up for a new onslaught in the coming months.
The wall of death consists of anti-tank obstacles, fortified trenches and underground bunkers alongside miles of barbed wire and weapon emplacements.
The army of Ukraine and its leader Zelensky are digging in to resist assaults from Russian forces with defences designed to stall sweeping mechanised advances from Russian tanks.
Dnipro, in central Ukraine has ordered 42,000 dragon’s teeth - anti-tank obstacles designed to hold back Russian armour advances.
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As many as 14 sets of reinforced concrete structures have also been ordered to bolster defences in the region. An official in Dnipro said: “strengthening the region’s defensive capability is one of the priority areas” for Ukraine’s war effort.
New fortifications of "dragon teeth" seen on the fields nearby Chasiv Yar battlefield, part of the new wall of death (Anadolu via Getty Images)Meanwhile in Zaporizhzhia a massive £27 million has been earmarked for building fortifications. Settlements in Donetsk and Kharkiv are also getting upgrades to their defences ahead of an expected Russian assault.
Just a few kilometres from the grim fighting of the front lines Ukrainian engineers are working round the clock to build trenches and dragon’s teeth tank traps to shore up the front line. "This round anti-tank trench was dug by a specialised MDK-3 excavator," Andrii, a Ukrainian soldier, explained to Le Monde.
The trenches are given a special shape by the excavator which stops the walls sagging over time and makes them more effective at stopping Russian tanks in their tracks. Meanwhile RBC Ukraine reports that Zelensky's forces are even building minefields to halt enemies.
Ukrainian troops have been fighting on the front lines while engineers build new fortifications just behind (Anadolu via Getty Images)However, while Ukraine is shoring up its defences the army cannot be seen to just dig in and sit still, defence analysts have said. "The issue for the Ukrainians is they don’t want to just go static,” Edward Arnold, from think tank RUSI, told The Telegraph. "If the lines go static and they don’t move at all, that’s not great from a political point of view."
Instead Ukraine’s army will have to hold its ground in some areas, using the new defences - while going on the offensive in others, a difficult balance to strike.
If Putin is planning a late spring or early summer offensive, even the new fortifications may not be enough without further help for Ukraine from its western allies. Support from the US and Europe has so far proved key to Ukraine’s war effort and military analysts have warned that the coming months are a crucial time to increase this if they hope to win.
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