It is a gigantic construction site about twenty kilometers from the front line in Ukraine. “Our actions are no longer offensive but defensive, and when we defend we must be prepared so we prepare our defenses,” explains Colonel Vlad Voloshin, commander of operations in Zaporizhzhia.

“We put barbed wire, dragon teeth, concrete blocks, and we are digging anti-tank ditches,” he continues.

The Ukrainian government has announced a budget of more than 500 million euros to dig and build defense lines more than 2,000 kilometers long as quickly as possible.

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It was the soldiers who dug the trenches themselves, and private construction companies took over.

If Colonel Voloshin seems satisfied, some believe that this should have been implemented a long time ago. “For months we have been asking the government to plan spending on fortifications, but they have turned a deaf ear, more concerned with rebuilding roads, bridges and buildings.”

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