Former Kursk Oblast Governor Alexei Smirnov and his deputy Alexei Dedov are accused of embezzling over a billion rubles ($12 million) from the budget allocated to the Kursk Oblast Development Corporation for the construction of fortifications on the border with Ukraine.
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. DONETSK OBLAST – Scanning an array of nine video feeds from a command point in an abandoned summer, mortar battery commander Tymur “Babai” searches for
Governor Ivan Fedorov said the designs for the fortifications have been "significantly improved" compared to previous versions and that the modernized defenses are particularly adept at repelling drone attacks.
The "East Shield" program aims to fortify Poland's borders with Belarus, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Key updates on July 25: * Russia will be forced to scale down its attacks in a month and a half, Ukrainian commander says * Kherson Oblast fortifications are 97% complete, Shmyhal says * Peace talks impossible without Russia, China at table, Czech president says * Romania confirms Russian drone debris landed on its
"Building fortifications is a priority for every front-line oblast's leader. This year, the government allocated Hr 2 billion (around $50 million) to Kherson Oblast for this task," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
Viacheslav Dydarenko, a farmer in the Myropillia community in Sumy Oblast that borders Russia typifies the hardship faced by the agricultural sector in the area. Shrapnel scars and gaping holes mark his farm buildings, and he cannot work some of his rented 4,450 acres — 70% of which is located
There is a saying in Poland that, “No one will die for Gdansk.” No matter what kind of security guarantees Poland gets from Western countries, most Poles believe that we will still have to fend for ourselves. After all, when the Nazis invaded in 1939, Poland had security guarantees from
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted on May 22 to create a special temporary commission on fortifications, lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko said.
The construction of fortifications around the border town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast was "difficult" due to constant Russian shelling, Tamaz Gambarashvili, the head of Vovchansk City Military Administration, told Radio Svoboda on May 13.
VOVCHANSK, KHARKIV OBLAST – The glide bombs arrive in groups of three. Their flight can be heard from far away, but only in the last second before impact is it clear where it will hit. The explosions, orders of magnitude more powerful than regular artillery shells, shake the ground where the
SUMY OBLAST – A group of military officers, local police chiefs, border guards, emergency service workers, and farmers gather around a map of Sumy Oblast’s Myropillia community in an undisclosed location around a mile from Russia. The air raid siren doesn’t interrupt the meeting, which is devoted to reinforcing
The government has allocated an additional over Hr 8 billion (around $202.3 million) for the construction of fortifications in Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 23.
Local authorities in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk Oblast have stopped assessing the damage of Russia’s war. Daily barrages of attacks make doing so both futile and extremely dangerous. Russian forces launch up to 2,500 attacks daily at the embattled region’s towns and villages located along 165 miles
Key developments on April 12: * Energy minister says Ukraine's energy system stable, urges citizens to prepare for 'any scenarios' * Bloomberg: Ukrainian army collapse 'cannot be ruled out,' US official says * Netherlands allocates additional $1.5 billion in aid for Ukraine * Ukraine additionally allocates close to $100 million for fortifications
Around Hr 1.7 billion ($43 million) will be devoted to building up defenses in Kharkiv Oblast and Hr 1.5 billion ($38 million) to Sumy Oblast. Additional funds will also be provided to Donetsk, Kherson, and Mykolaiv oblasts, Shmyhal said.
Ukrainian forces are building up defensive capabilities along the entire border with Russia and Belarus, Ukraine's State Border Guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on April 8 on national television.
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Chernihiv Oblast bordering Russia and Belarus to meet with local officials and inspect the construction of fortifications, the Presidential Office reported on April 5.
Key developments on April 2: * Ukraine hits drone factory, oil refinery in Russia's Tatarstan * Zelensky signs several laws on mobilization, making younger men eligible for draft * Putin appoints new Black Sea Fleet commander * Russia's missile attack against Dnipro injures 18, including 5 children * Government allocates additional $144 million for fortifications
Ukraine will allocate an additional Hr 5.6 billion ($144 million) to fortify Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Sumy oblasts, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on April 2.
In early March, Zelensky announced that Ukraine was building 2,000 kilometers of fortifications. According to the governor, the construction in Kyiv Oblast includes an extensive system of trenches, dugouts, anti-tank ditches, and other non-explosive barriers.
President Volodymyr Zelensky was briefed on the project for the construction of a platoon stronghold near Sumy, which includes reinforced concrete structures, firing positions for tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, and corrugated steel shelters.
Ukrainian forces are strengthening the fortifications of the first, second, and third lines of defense in Sumy Oblast bordering Russia amid intensified attacks, Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Northern Operational Command, told Ukrinform on March 18.
Key developments on March 11: * CNN: Russia producing 3 times more shells than US, Europe can provide to Ukraine * Baerbock says Taurus-Storm Shadow missiles swap 'an option' * Zelensky: Ukraine building 2,000 kilometers of fortifications * Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 3, injure 13 over past day Russia is set to
The construction of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) of fortifications across three lines of defense is "a massive task, but the pace is good," Zelensky said.
Ukraine has "almost certainly" accelerated the construction of defensive fortifications along several areas of the front line, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its March 10 report.
Ukrainian troops are building fortifications in expectation of a Russian offensive in the spring, though some worry that the progress is not fast enough, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on March 7, citing Western officials and Ukrainian soldiers.
Editor's note: The full names of the soldiers introduced in the story are not disclosed due to security concerns amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. DONETSK OBLAST – As artillery began pounding the cold-hardened ground ahead of them, two Ukrainian soldiers listened warily to shell impacts creep closer. They were squeezed
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