Defense fortifications recently built in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, where Russian attacks and shelling are multiplying, were visited by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky warned on Sunday that his country “will lose the war” if US aid, which remains blocked by Congress, does not arrive in time.
After the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the summer of 2023, Kiev is now faced with Russian attacks in the northeast, east and south. The army has begun building trenches and defense lines to stop the Russians from advancing, a tactic similar to that adopted by the Kremlin last year.
Visiting the defense projects being built in the Kharkiv region, Zelensky stressed that this zone is “very important”.
“We have to be prepared. And the Russians must see that we are ready to defend ourselves. I want our people to know that Ukraine is prepared if the enemy attacks,” he said, according to the Ukrainian presidency’s Telegram account. The presidency did not specify when the visit took place.
Ukrainian forces have been under attack in the Kupyansk region for months while the city of Kharkiv is constantly bombarded. Energy infrastructures have mainly been targeted, resulting in blackouts.
The fortifications being built by Ukraine are a network of trenches, anti-tank ditches and barriers, the so-called “dragon’s teeth”, triangular-shaped pieces of concrete meant to delay an armored attack. The situation on the frontline is difficult after two years of war: Ukraine is struggling to recruit new forces, $60 billion in US aid has been blocked by Congress for months, while that of the Europeans is delayed.
At the same time, Russia has managed to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers and direct its industrial production to the war effort, despite Western sanctions that are hurting its economy.
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