Surovikin Line
Yevhen Dykyi, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, scholar, and publicist, said 08 September 2023 "The Russians have built a miniature copy of the pan-European defense lines of 1914-1918 in the south and are now spreading the idea that if the war in such trench lines lasted for years and did not lead to a change in the front line in the early twentieth century, the same will happen now. Secondly, the Russians have learned to adjust their Psychological operations (PSYOP), they are no longer as "axe-like" and stupid as they were a year ago. After Kharkiv and Kherson, they are no longer floating the legend that "the Russian army always wins" - no one believes in that anymore - but instead they are promoting a new story about the so-called "battle draw" in the south," the expert says.
"No defense line protects itself. It is protected by the personnel. And the Muscovites have problems with this - their reserves are melting away." Why do I think so? The first evidence for me was the deployment of Pskov paratroopers near Robotyne from the left bank of the Kherson region, which is also of great strategic value to Russia. If the Russians expose an important piece of the front, it means that there is simply nowhere else to take it....
"It became known that the Russian Federation had to transfer paratroopers to Robotyne from Luhansk region. So, firstly, they have no reserves in the hinterland, they are removing security from the airfields, and secondly, everything combat-ready is already within the front. And what is called in Russia "Trishkin's caftan" begins, meaning that if you want to hem the right sleeve, you have to cut it off from the left. And that is why I believe that they will not succeed in playing out the World War I version, forcing us to fight for years against the Surovikin Line. Their defense is already cracking. But cracking and already falling apart are different things."
In a highly anticipated development, on 04 June 2023 the Ukrainian forces finally launched the much-awaited counteroffensive. This strategic move had been eagerly anticipated for several months, with President Zelensky making multiple announcements about its impending implementation. Despite Kiev's readiness to sacrifice hundreds of its soldiers, Ukrainian troops encountered formidable resistance in their pursuit of strategic objectives. As of the end of July 2023, they had not succeeded in breaching the initial line of Russian defenses, known as the "Surovikin Defensive Line," underscoring the complexity of the conflict with both sides locked in a tense and high-stakes struggle for dominance.
Ukrainian troops broke through Russia's first defensive line in the Zaporizhzhia region after weeks of painstaking demining, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria operational-strategic group of troops, said. He said this in an interview with the Guardian. According to him, faster successes are expected in the future, since the second line of Russian troops is weaker. Tarnavskyi claims that Russia devoted 60% of its time and resources to building the first line of defense and only 20% each to the second and third lines because Moscow did not expect Ukrainian forces to break through.
"Now we are between the first and second lines of defense," he said. "We are completing the destruction of enemy units that are covering the withdrawal of Russian troops behind the second line of defense." A minefield reportedly blocked Ukrainian troops for several weeks while sappers slowly cleared the assault path, but this barrier had been overcome. the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the successes of the defense forces of Ukraine on the southern front, in particular, on the offensive in the Zaporizhzhia direction, where the Ukrainian military "consolidates on the achieved lines, carries out counter-battery combat measures."
The Russians built a network of underground tunnels on the second line of defense. The second line of defense of the Russians was also very powerful, as the Russian troops have been entrenched for more than a year. The number of minefields on the second line of defense is also high, but less than on the first line. The fact that the Russian's trenches, trenches and coverings will not be so strong can play into the hands of the Ukrainian armed forces. The tunnel networks were public information thanks to bad OPSEC by Russian state media bragging about the construction, with pictures and videos.
Ukrainian light infantry advanced beyond anti-tank ditches and dragon's teeth anti-tank obstacles that comprise the Russian defensive layer ahead of the Ukrainian advance in western Zaporizhia, and Ukrainian forces likely intend to hold those positions. Putin says Ukraine counteroffensive a failure. "It is not that it is stalling. It is a failure," Putin told a news conference in Sochi. "At least today this is what it looks like. Let's see what happens next." Putin had repeatedly claimed that Ukraine was not making any headway against Russian defensive positions in Moscow-occupied territories. Ukrainian forces had decisively breached Russia's first defensive line near Zaporizhzhia, according to Brigade General Tarnavskiy. He said that the Ukrainian army is positioned between the first and second lines of defense. A western defence source confirmed to the BBC the video showed a damaged U.K. supplied Challenger 2 tank in Ukraine. The defence source also confirmed that all the crew survived.
As of July 2023 "the Ukrainians have competent, late WW2, Soviet era trench works and the Russian Army does not.... The whole point of what FM 30-236 called "Bracelet & Bangles" fighting positions ahead of the trench line was to get enfilading rifle & machine gun fire on troops stacked up at obstacles and mines. Nothing like that WW2 Soviet Army at Kursk integrated barbed wire, Anti-tank trench and mine obstacle field fortification in the previous post has appeared in Ukraine.... It takes a non-commissioned officer corps or lots of well trained junior officers (WW2 Soviets 1943+) to make troops construct "Bracelet & Bangles" trenchworks with good overhead cover. The 2023 Russian Army has neither.... this heavy mining forward move was a Russian General Staff idea. They forward deployed this density of mines to try and slow the Ukrainians so much that there would not be enough time this summer to take the South. In particular, Russia had to keep AFU out of GMLRS range of the M-14 highway, Berdyansk & Mariupol. That meant in front of the 1st Surovikin trench line and not someplace like Tokmak. Which is far too close to Melitopol as well as Berdyansk.... Russian logistics to keep the areas in just in front of AFU advances filled with 100,000's of mines, to keep Russia's sub-standard trenches relevant, just fell apart."
Trent Telenko noted "A lot of Russian field fortifications seem to be contractor built, (Crimea photos) which explains the lack of wire, overhead cover & the inability to place it's dragon teeth into a WW2 style concrete matrix that makes them actually functional for use."
Steven Zaloga notd "The "Toblerone" Dragon's Teeth are a good case in point. Whoever designed the current Russian obstacles seems to have forgotten that the classic Dragon's Teeth are part of a concrete matrix of teeth that prevents single teeth from being pushed aside by tanks." In the Siegfried LIne, the teeth were all linked underground by a massive reinforced concrete grid system, so much bigger and stronger than these baby teeth.
Ukraine's biggest counteroffensive effort was launched in early June. Despite a major influx of Western armor and weaponry, however, the effort moved forward at a snail's pace as troops run into formidable Russian defenses known as the Surovikin Line -- named for the Russian general who oversaw their construction last year. The southern Zaporizhzhya region, south of the town of Orikhiv, has been the main focus of the three-pronged effort. Ukrainian units have switched tactics away from highly coordinated "combined arms tactics" and are now focusing on small-scale, dismounted platoon advances on foot, in sequence with artillery barrages.
Ukrainians were expanding their breach with more infantry and/or recon and they have highly likely reached the trenchsystem protecting the Surovikin line. "Ukrainian light infantry has advanced to positions beyond anti-tank ditches and dragon’s teeth anti-tank obstacles that comprise the current Russian defensive layer" in the west of the region, the U.S. Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in an assessment of the battleground situation in Ukraine on September 4. "Ukrainian forces likely intend to hold those positions."
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