Russian troops have been in retreat in Ukraine for several weeks. The British secret service considers further territorial gains by the Ukrainian army to be possible. Because Russian units raise new defensive positions far behind the current front.
According to British military experts, the Russian invasion troops in Ukraine are preparing for further setbacks. This emerges from the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London. According to the report, after withdrawing from the western bank of the Dnipro River, Russian forces in most of the country they occupied are focusing on regrouping and making defensive arrangements.
As evidence, the British Ministry of Defense cites new trenches dug near the Crimean border and the Seversky Donets River between the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. “Some of the sites are up to 60 kilometers behind the current front line, suggesting that Russian planners are making preparations in the event of further major Ukrainian breakthroughs,” the London statement said. However, it is also likely that Russia will try to redeploy some of the troops withdrawn from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to reinforce its offensive operations near the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
In view of the successful Ukrainian counter-offensive, the Russian military had set up defensive positions in several places in recent weeks. In early November, satellite images revealed new defensive positions on the east bank of the Dnipro. The defense belts are said to be about 150 kilometers long and stretch from the mouth of the Dnipro to the village of Vasylivka. Just a day later, the Kremlin ordered the withdrawal from the Kherson region. Shortly thereafter, the Russian troops withdrew from the dam town of Nowa Kachowka on the other side of the Dnipro.
As early as October, there was also a report about the so-called Wagner Line, which was built in the Ukrainian region of Luhansk. However, it was also noticeable in this case that the defensive positions were up to 50 kilometers behind the current front line in the Donbass. Around the occupied and largely destroyed port city of Mariupol, concrete anti-tank devices were also recently erected – presumably in anticipation of Ukrainian breakthroughs.
The British Ministry of Defense has published daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.