The NYT criticizes the weak defensive positions of Ukrainian soldiers near Avdijivka

The US publication “The New York Times”, following analyzing satellite images and citing US officials and military experts, reports on the weak defensive positions of Ukrainian soldiers west of Avdiyivka.

In an article titled “Ukraine’s surprisingly weak defenses help Russians advance,” the publication notes that the rapid movement of Russian troops near Avdiyivka is partly due to a lack of ammunition for the defense forces due to reduced Western aid, but another reason is weak Ukrainian defenses.

Citing satellite images from Planet Labs, the publication reports that “the territory west of Avdeyevka, which Ukraine is trying to defend, is covered by sparse, primitive trench lines” that “lack many additional fortifications that might help slow Russian tanks and protect key roads and important areas”.

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Facebook/Soldiers of Ukraine

U.S. officials have privately expressed concern that Ukraine did not shore up its defenses well enough in advance and that it may now face consequences as Russian units slowly but steadily advance beyond Avdiyivka.

The publication notes that the Ukrainian leadership had enough time to prepare for defense in this area. “However, Ukrainian defenses outside Avdijivka are rudimentary earth fortifications, often with a connecting ditch for infantry to reach the nearest enemy firing positions, but no more,” the publication said.

It notes that Russian fortifications near the southern village of Verbovye, which Ukraine tried to recapture this fall, “show a very different picture.”

IMAGO/Scanpix/Russian soldiers

“Unlike the poorly fortified villages that Russian forces are trying to capture near Avdijivka, Verbova has a concentric ring of fortifications. It begins with a ditch wide enough to hold off approaching tanks and armored vehicles, followed by a network of cement barriers known as ‘dragon’s teeth’, which are also used to stop vehicles, and finally a wide ditch for infantry.” Satellite images taken in February show Russia’s multi-layered defense to the west of Verbovė, and in the surrounding fields – thousands of craters made by shells,” NYT wrote.

According to the publication, there are many possible reasons for Ukraine’s apparent lack of defense.

According to US officials and military experts, Ukrainian officials may have been too focused on offensive operations last year to devote the necessary resources to the many trenches and tank traps that Russian engineers are planning to install starting in 2022. built at the end of the year in the south of the country, to be equipped,” the publication reads.

According to U.S. officials, there may also be an important psychological element. If Ukrainian troops are intensively mining certain areas to prevent Russian troops from advancing, it would be a tacit admission that they are unlikely to carry out offensive operations in the same area in the future, the publication writes.

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Telegram/Soldiers of Ukraine

It adds that Moscow began building defensive lines in the south more than six months before Kyiv’s counterattack, while Ukraine appears to have started planning new fortifications only three months ago.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to the front line in late November that areas in the eastern Donetsk region, where Avdijivka is located, “will be given maximum attention,” noting that “fortifications need to be strengthened and construction accelerated.”

But Pasi Paroinen, an analyst at Black Bird Group, a company that analyzes satellite images and social media content from the battlefield, said that “nothing significant happened” following Zelensky’s visit. Outside Avdijivka, the analyst said, “new positions are being prepared, but they do not yet form a very formidable defensive line” and are not comparable in scale to Russian fortifications in the south.

As the NYT points out, the delay in building the fortifications means Ukrainian forces may be forced to bolster their defenses under Russian fire, making the task much more difficult.