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Not only soldiers, but also Ukrainian civilians are working tirelessly to defend their homeland: employees of a construction company are building fortified trenches in the Chernihiv region.

Yuri Ilyaschek

, building contractor:


»We are standing here on the defense line, which is occupied by soldiers. A little further in front of us is another line of so-called dragon teeth. These are pyramid-shaped anti-tank barriers made of reinforced concrete, designed to stop any enemy military equipment that has managed to get through here.”

An anti-tank ditch completes the three-tier defense line, which is monitored from a control bunker.

There are currently no ground battles in the area in the north of Ukraine. But Ukraine is feverishly building facilities across the country to prevent Russian troops from invading deep into the country again. Nationwide, the Ukrainian army has already provided the equivalent of $509 million for border fortifications this year. On Tuesday, the prime minister pledged an additional $142 million for this purpose.

There are good reasons for the effort. Experts say that Ukraine is currently preventing even major Russian breakthroughs on the front. But since the failed summer offensive of 2023, the Ukrainian army has been on the defensive almost everywhere - and there are not well-developed defense lines everywhere to which the troops can retreat if necessary.

And so civilians also work on the defense lines in contested areas of the front, such as here in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.

Maxim Vladimirovich, engineer:


»It's loud, but there haven't been any hits so far. The attacker's drones keep flying over us. But we continue to build. There is no other way."

Ukraine lacks military equipment, ammunition and personnel. It must therefore limit its military actions to critical areas of the front.

Oleksiy Kuleba, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office:


»I have to make it clear that we are not digging trenches just to defend ourselves. We are creating a certain reserve of resources, of combat assets, that we can then access as we advance further.

However, major Ukrainian attempts to retake occupied territory are unlikely this year. Rather, it's about holding the front as much as possible - even against a new Russian offensive, which President Zelensky has already warned about.