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
