Defenses Carved Into the Earth
Russia is building a vast network of trenches, traps and obstacles to slow Ukraine’s momentum. Will it work?
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/top-img-XL1400.jpg)
500 ft
NORTH
Trenches
Vehicle
obstacles
A mile-long
trench
Trenches
This satellite image shows newly built Russian fortifications near one of the deadliest frontlines of the war in Ukraine.
POSSIBLE DIRECTION OF A UKRAINIAN ATTACK
Military
equipment
1
2
3
Vehicle
obstacles
4
Trench
5
VYSKRYVA
Dragon’s
teeth
Trench
◀ Popasna
You can see at least five defensive lines Russia has built to protect Popasna, a town it captured in May.
The fortifications are designed to funnel Ukrainian vehicles into a narrow road, where they are vulnerable to artillery and missiles.
SECONDARY ROAD
Off road
vehicle
Fortifications
Vehicle
revetments
This is just a tiny part of an immense Russian defensive network spreading across Ukraine, a Times analysis of satellite radar data shows.
HIGHWAY T0504
Vehicles and
equipment
Trenches
Apparent
shelling
marks
Dragon’s
teeth
Vehicles and
equipment
HIGHWAY T0504
◀ Popasna
These structures could buy Russia crucial time to mobilize and train additional troops to regain momentum in the war. But Ukraine may test Russia’s ability to hold these positions over the winter.
Trenches
Trenches
Trenches
Vehicle
obstacles
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/top-img-MD900.jpg)
Trenches
500 ft
NORTH
Vehicle
obstacles
A mile-long
trench
This satellite image shows newly built Russian fortifications near one of the deadliest frontlines of the war in Ukraine.
POSSIBLE DIRECTION OF A UKRAINIAN ATTACK
Military
equipment
1
2
Vehicle
obstacles
3
4
◀ Popasna
Trench
5
VYSKRYVA
Dragon’s
teeth
Trench
You can see at least five defensive lines Russia has built to protect Popasna, a town it captured in May.
The fortifications are designed to funnel Ukrainian vehicles into a narrow road, where they are vulnerable to artillery and missiles.
SECONDARY ROAD
Off road
vehicle
Fortifications
Vehicle
revetments
This is just a tiny part of an immense Russian defensive network spreading across Ukraine, a Times analysis of satellite radar data shows.
HIGHWAY T0504
Vehicles and
equipment
Trenches
◀ Popasna
Apparent
shelling
marks
Dragon’s
teeth
Vehicles and
equipment
These structures could buy Russia crucial time to mobilize and train additional troops to regain momentum in the war. But Ukraine may test Russia’s ability to hold these positions over the winter.
Trenches
Trenches
Vehicle
obstacles
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/top-img-SD350.jpg)
500 ft
Trenches
NORTH
A mile-long
trench
This satellite image shows newly built Russian fortifications near one of the deadliest frontlines of the war in Ukraine.
POSSIBLE DIRECTION OF A UKRAINIAN ATTACK
1
2
3
4
5
Vehicle
obstacles
Trenches
You can see at least five defensive lines Russia has built to protect Popasna, a town it captured in May.
The fortifications are designed to funnel Ukrainian vehicles into a narrow road, where they are vulnerable to artillery and missiles.
Trenches
This is just a tiny part of an immense Russian defensive network spreading across Ukraine, a Times analysis of satellite radar data shows.
HIGHWAY T0504
◀ Popasna
Vehicles and
equipment
Dragon’s
teeth
These structures could buy Russia crucial time to mobilize and train additional troops to regain momentum in the war. But Ukraine may test Russia’s ability to hold these positions over the winter.
Trenches
Trenches are not new to Ukraine. Trench warfare has long been a feature of the battle in eastern Ukraine for the Donbas region. Ukrainians fight from their own trenches on their side of the line near Popasna, where Russians are waging an intense campaign to dislodge Ukrainian troops from the city of Bakhmut.
But the pace and the scale of Russian construction over the last couple of months is unmatched. All of the structures in the image above appeared within six days.
The fortifications show how Russia’s military is trying to set up more robust, defensible positions against Ukrainian pressure, often with the help of natural obstacles like rivers.
Last month, Ukraine recaptured a large amount of territory in the south, including the regional capital of Kherson, pushing Russian forces across the Dnipro River. The river serves as a natural barrier, and Russia has built an enormous series of defensive obstacles south of the river to discourage Ukraine from crossing it.
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/ukraine-fronts-map600.png)
Kyiv
Fortifications built
on eastern front
UKRAINE
Popasna
Fortifications built
on southern front
Kherson
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
CRIMEA
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/ukraine-fronts-Map300.png)
Kyiv
Fortifications built
on eastern front
UKRAINE
Popasna
Fortifications built
on southern front
Kherson
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
CRIMEA
Among the defenses are miles-long rows of concrete pyramids known as dragon’s teeth and deep ditches called tank traps. Both are designed to slow Ukrainian vehicles and force them into preset positions where Russian forces can target them.
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/pryshyb-photo600.jpg)
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Pryshyb
A tank trap about
13 miles long
Dragon’s
teeth
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/pryshyb-photo300.jpg)
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Pryshyb
Dragon’s
teeth
A tank trap about
13 miles long
Russia is also building miles of trenches, and pillboxes — small structures for their troops to shoot from.
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/structures-A1200.jpg)
DIRECTION
OF ATTACK
PILLBOXES
DRAGON’S
TEETH
ANTI-VEHICLE
TRENCH
Pits could stop tanks if they are deep enough.
These pyramid-shaped concrete structures serve as obstacles for vehicles. If not dug deep enough, they could be removed with bulldozers or demolished with explosives.
Trenches can be dug at a rate of up to a half mile per hour with Soviet BTM-3 trenchers, even when the ground is frozen.
TRENCHES
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/structures-A900.jpg)
DIRECTION
OF ATTACK
ANTI-VEHICLE
TRENCH
DRAGON’S
TEETH
PILLBOXES
Pits could stop tanks if they are deep enough.
These pyramid-shaped concrete structures serve as obstacles for vehicles. If not dug deep enough, they could be removed with bulldozers or demolished with explosives.
Trenches can be dug at a rate of up to a half mile per hour with Soviet BTM-3 trenchers, even when the ground is frozen.
TRENCHES
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/structures-A600.jpg)
DIRECTION
OF ATTACK
ANTI-VEHICLE
TRENCH
Pits could stop tanks if they are deep enough.
DRAGON’S
TEETH
These pyramid-shaped concrete structures serve as obstacles for vehicles. If not dug deep enough, they could be removed with bulldozers or demolished with explosives.
PILLBOXES
Trenches can be dug at a rate of up to a half mile per hour with Soviet BTM-3 trenchers, even when the ground is frozen.
TRENCHES
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/structures-A300.jpg)
DIRECTION
OF ATTACK
ANTI-VEHICLE TRENCH
Pits could stop tanks if they are deep enough.
DRAGON’S TEETH
These pyramid-shaped concrete structures serve as obstacles for vehicles. If not dug deep enough, they could be removed with bulldozers or demolished with explosives.
PILLBOXES
TRENCHES
Trenches can be dug at a rate of up to a half mile per hour with Soviet BTM-3 trenchers, even when the ground is frozen.
The fortifications could slow Ukraine’s army — but they are effective only if manned correctly.
If the positions are unmanned, they are useful only if there is an orderly Russian retreat, one of the most difficult tactical operations to conduct, said Philip Wasielewski, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
“There’s no guarantee that those soldiers will make it to those fortifications. Or once they get there, not just keep running,” Mr. Wasielewski said. “These are just holes in the ground unless they are held by motivated, disciplined soldiers, who are supported by artillery, mobile reserves and logistics.”
To better understand Russia’s fortifications in eastern Ukraine, The Times analyzed satellite radar data on physical changes to the earth’s surface. That data, along with high-resolution satellite imagery from Planet Labs, reveals multiple rows of Russian defenses lining major highways just behind the Russian frontlines.
Russian defensive fortifications built in November
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Popasna-fortifications_v2-Map900.jpg)
Fedorivka
Russia has built
multiple defensive
lines behind the
frontline on the
outskirts of Popasna.
Vesele
HIGHWAY T1302
HELD BY
UKRAINE
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
MAX. RUSSIAN
PRESENCE
Pokrovske
POPASNA
HIGHWAY T0504
BAKHMUT
HIGHWAY M03
Area shown in the
satellite image
at top of page
Troitske
Odradivka
Myronivka
UKRAINE
Popasna
2 miles
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Popasna-fortifications_v2-Map600.jpg)
Fedorivka
Vesele
Russia has built multiple
defensive lines behind the
frontline on the outskirts
of Popasna.
HELD BY
UKRAINE
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
MAX. RUSSIAN
PRESENCE
Pokrovske
POPASNA
HIGHWAY T0504
BAKHMUT
Area shown in
the satellite
image at top
of page
HIGHWAY M03
Troitske
Odradivka
Myronivka
UKRAINE
Popasna
2 miles
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Popasna-fortifications_v2-Map340.jpg)
Russia has built multiple
defensive lines behind the
frontline on the outskirts
of Popasna.
HELD BY
UKRAINE
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
POPASNA
MAX.
RUSSIAN
PRESENCE
HIGHWAY
T0504
BAKHMUT
Area shown in the
satellite image at
top of page
HIGHWAY M03
UKRAINE
Popasna
4 miles
Russia remains on the offensive near Bakhmut, slamming the city with artillery and slowly gaining ground to the east and south of the city over the past two weeks. The new construction provides several defensible positions to retreat to, should the Ukrainians counterattack.
That could help Russia avoid a repeat of its costly withdrawal from the Kharkiv region in September, when it lost thousands of square miles of territory and was forced to abandon military equipment.
One network of Russian defenses near Popasna was constructed in just 11 days. Satellite data from Popasna shows new rows of defensive structures snaking north across open fields.
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Popasna-sar-Map600.jpg)
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Popasna
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
Nov. 7
Nov. 14
Nov. 18
Trypillia
Trypillia
Trypillia
Rows of
defensive
structures
Pylypchatyne
Pylypchatyne
Pylypchatyne
HIGHWAY T0504
Vyskryva
Vyskryva
Vyskryva
1 mile
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Popasna-sar-Map300.jpg)
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Popasna
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
Nov. 7
Nov. 14
Nov. 18
Trypillia
Trypillia
Trypillia
Rows of
defensive
structures
HIGHWAY T0504
Vyskryva
Vyskryva
Vyskryva
1 mile
Some Russian military bloggers have been openly critical of Russia’s construction of a fortified frontline. In a Telegram post on Dec. 6, Igor Strelkov, a Russian former intelligence officer, said the decision to build long-term structures had been made “on a whim.”
“Following the strategy of a protracted war is suicide for the Russian Federation,” he said.
While trench warfare is associated with the major wars of the 20th century, trenches and obstacles can still play an important role in modern warfare by shaping where an enemy can attack, said Ben Barry, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“The whole idea of defensive positions is to get an advantage by being able to fight from prepared positions,” Mr. Barry said.
The Soviets used these types of defenses to successfully defend against a German attack on the city of Kursk during World War II. Moscow views this as the model of a Russian defensive battle, Mr. Barry said.
“They knew the Germans were attacking there. So they built defenses in great depth and had many belts of obstacles and minefields and belts of defense and also powerful reserves,” he said.
But trenches have modern weaknesses as well. Many of them are being built out in the open, within striking distance of Ukrainian artillery, making them especially vulnerable to being spotted by drones.
Constructing these defenses so near to Ukrainian forces has very likely led to heavy Russian casualties near the town of Svatove in eastern Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
An analysis published in late November by the Institute for the Study of War, an American research group, showed that Russia also built defensive positions deep in southern Kherson in October before it ordered a withdrawal from territory north of the Dnipro River.
Defensive fortifications built since late October
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Kherson-fortifications_v2-Map600.jpg)
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Detail area
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
HELD BY
UKRAINE
Melitopol
M14 HIGHWAY
Novotroitske
Mykolayiv
P47 HIGHWAY
Kherson
Tarasivka
Kinburn
Spit
Dzhankoy
KARKINYTSKA
GULF
CRIMEA
25 miles
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Kherson-fortifications_v2-Map300.jpg)
Nikopol
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Detail area
CONTROLLED
BY RUSSIA
Melitopol
HELD BY
UKRAINE
M14 HIGHWAY
Mykolayiv
Novotroitske
P47 HIGHWAY
Kherson
Tarasivka
Kinburn
Spit
Dzhankoy
KARKINYTSKA
GULF
CRIMEA
25 miles
Russia’s fortifications are much further from the frontlines in Kherson than in eastern Ukraine. New structures have been spotted more than 50 miles from the Dnipro River, which now serves as a natural barrier between the two sides.
Military experts said that Russia is likely moving to the defense in Kherson so it can redeploy forces to more active fronts in the war, such as Bakhmut.
Even so, it is a signal that “the Russian military leadership views the prospect of a Ukrainian counteroffensive across the Dnipro River as a serious threat,” according to an assessment by the Institute for the Study of War.
Ukraine has already made an amphibious landing on a strategically vital peninsula at the mouth of the Dnipro River. Known as the Kinburn Spit, the peninsula could serve as a base for Ukrainian attacks deep into Kherson, so Russia has heavily fortified a two-mile-wide strip of land separating the spit from the mainland.
New fortifications in Kherson
![Anti-vehicle pits, dragon’s teeth rows and other fortifications near the town of Novotroitsk](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/kherson-trenches-grd-03.jpg)
Novotroitsk
![Trenches near the town of Tarasivka](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/kherson-trenches-grd-07.jpg)
Tarasivka
![Dragon’s teeth rows, vehicles and other fortifications near the town of Velyka Blahovischenka](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/kherson-trenches-grd-05.jpg)
Velyka Blahovischenka
![Anti-vehicle obstacles and trenches near the town of Novooleksiivka](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/kherson-trenches-grd-06.jpg)
Novooleksiivka
Many of the fortifications are designed to protect supply lines that connect southern Kherson to Crimea, the peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Losing even one of the two main highways “would likely strain Russian logistics supporting operations” in eastern Kherson and western Zaporizhia, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Defensive positions can be seen every five miles on the major M14 highway that runs from Kherson to Melitopol, a city in the Zaporizhia region that Russia captured in the early days of the war.
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Kherson-road-img600.jpg)
Kyiv
Trenches
UKRAINE
Detail area
Stepne
M14 HIGHWAY
Novoielyzavetivka
Volynske
Fedorivka
Zirka
1 mile
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Kherson-road-Map300.jpg)
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Detail area
Trenches
Stepne
M14 HIGHWAY
Volynske
Fedorivka
Zirka
1 mile
![](https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2022-12-02-ukraine-trenches/6e44c247ca895d4c122942bdba9d56d73abc1654/_assets/Kherson-road-img1200.jpg)
Zirka
M14 HIGHWAY
Stepne
Fedorivka
Kyiv
Volynske
UKRAINE
Detail area
Dmytrivka
1 mile
Ultimately the success of these defensive structures depends on the quality of the troops defending them. Russia mobilized hundreds of thousands of fresh recruits in September, but many of them arrived on the battlefield poorly trained and unequipped.
Russia has likely deployed these new recruits to frontline defenses in Kherson, saving more experienced troops for secondary positions, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War wrote late last month.
“Manning Russian frontline fortifications with these less effective, less organized, and poorly equipped and supplied personnel could lead to them collapsing or falling back faster than Russian military leadership may have planned,” the analysts wrote.