The images that have appeared in open access indicate that russian occupiers are building a line of fortifications near Svatove in the temporarily occupied part of Luhansk oblast, the basis of which is the so-called "dragon's teeth" or Wagner’s line. Satellite images indicate that the length of such a line is about 30-50 kilometers. Behind the "dragon's teeth" there is also a line of trenches that russians are digging for their soldiers, as the DefMon reports.
It is noted that russians hope to cover with such "dragon's teeth" the entire length of the front between the temporarily occupied Svatove and Kreminna. The construction of such a line has accelerated in the last few days: if on November 23 the length of the fortifications was only 22 kilometers, then on November 26 it was already 30 kilometers.
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At first glance, the quality of the "dragon's teeth" line arouses natural skepticism, as builders fix such structures in wet ground, instead of "drowning" in a "pillow" made of concrete. And the maximum that russians can do there is to fix this fortification with cables or chains, for which there are loops.
But on the other hand, it seems that the invaders here have their own separate calculation, which is not devoid of rationality. For example, DefMon believes that invaders hope for frosty weather, the earth will harden, and it will be a stronger "cushion" than concrete.
Defense Express adds the opposite: even if there is no frost this winter, rain and sleet will prevail, due to which the mud will stick constantly, even under such conditions, the "dragon's teeth" of the ridges near Svatove will be difficult to pass. Armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will have to mix mud and these "pyramids" at the same time when they come into contact with enemy fortifications. And if russians decide to place their ATGM units behind this line of fortifications, then an attempt to pass will mean significant losses for Ukraine's army.
Moreover, it seems that the russian military is trying to build its "dragon's teeth" line in Luhansk oblast so that it "joins" the fortified "Wagner line" in the area of temporarily occupied Kreminna, which in turn passes past the temporarily occupied Popasna to Svitlodarsk.
In turn, open sources also indicated that invaders near Popasna are at least trying to build long-term positions for their artillery. And this is how the general plan of russia’s military and political leadership of can be seen: to build several mutually agreed fortifications in the temporarily occupied Luhansk oblast, the total length of which will exceed 100 km, in order to involve the Armed Forces of Ukraine in "battles of attrition" on this line of fortifications.
Russian Artillery firing positions near #Popasna, Luhansk Oblast @GeoConfirmed 48.611378, 38.269071Located by @fdov21 & @neonhandrail Source: https://t.co/JRca1NZ480 pic.twitter.com/mPAmTXVOXK— Neonhandrail (@neonhandrail) November 26, 2022
Even if the quality of the construction of these fortifications is at the very basic level, the weather here can play into the hands of the enemy: when it is cold, the "dragon's teeth" will freeze into the ground, in mud, they will make the passage difficult.
The situation is specific, and to overcome it, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will also need, in particular, specific "engineering" support. For example, the continuation of the supply of the American M58 MICLIC systems, which is an analogue of the UR-77 and a good answer to the "Wagner line". Or, in general, something like the M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles, an engineering version of the Abrams M1 tank.
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