His intelligence assessment on Tuesday said the Russian military was using two factories in occupied Mariupol to produce large numbers of “dragon’s teeth” – pyramidal concrete blocks designed to slow advancing military vehicles. (1/5) Russia has begun building defense structures around the occupied city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine. Two factories produce concrete pyramidal anti-tank structures, known as dragon’s teeth, for this purpose. — Ministry of Defense 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 8, 2022 The production and placement of the blocks in combination with razor blades and mines is the latest indication of how Russia’s forces are increasingly trying to shift to a more defensive war, particularly on the key southern Kherson front on the east bank of the Dnieper River. . “Dragon’s teeth have probably settled between Mariupoli and the village of Nikolske. and from northern Mariupol to the village of Staryi Krym. Mariupol is part of Russia’s “land bridge” from Russia to Crimea, a key logistics communication line. Dragon’s teeth have additionally been sent to prepare defensive fortifications in occupied Zaporizhia and Kherson,” the intelligence assessment said. “This activity suggests that Russia is making significant efforts to prepare defenses in depth behind its current front line, likely to prevent any rapid Ukrainian advance in the event of breakthroughs.” The Institute for the Study of War also noted Russia’s ongoing efforts to improve its defenses in the south. “Geolocated satellite images from October 29, November 3 and November 4 show Russian defensive lines at Kakhovka, 43 miles (70 kilometers) east of Kherson city, Hola Prystan, 5 miles southwest of Kherson city, and Ivanivka, 37 miles southwest of city of Kherson – all of these are located on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River,” he said. Usually used in conjunction with physical features, obstacle barriers are used to slow and block approaching enemy forces and redirect them to locations where they can be engaged. Their deployment is part of the toolbox of many armies, and experts point out that being useful requires skillful placement of barriers, as well as effective observation and placement of artillery systems to guard them. Retired Australian general Mick Ryan said increasing Russian efforts to erect barriers could reflect both military and domestic political needs. Again we see reports of more extensive obstacle zones being built by the Russians in occupied #Ukraine. This tells us a few things – a thread about the political and military utility of these obstacles. 1/19 🧵 https://t.co/S7N4MfqnPG — Mick Ryan, AM (@WarintheFuture) November 8, 2022 “First, construction in these barrier zones demonstrates the political importance of the areas where they are established. […] An important point to note is that given the upcoming influx into Ukraine of large numbers of poorly trained, newly mobilized troops, the Russians probably believe they can replace training with physical barriers on the battlefield,” he tweeted. “The big question in Ukraine is whether these obstacles are designed and put in place primarily for their military effect, or whether they exist purely for a political narrative back in Russia.” Russia’s focus on improving its defenses came as Kremlin-backed authorities in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region said power had been fully restored to its main city after blaming Kyiv for attacks that disrupted water and electricity supplies. The city of Kherson was the first urban hub to be seized by Russia after Moscow announced its “special military operation” in February and suffered a shutdown following Sunday’s strikes for which Moscow and Kyiv have swapped responsibility. “There is electricity, despite sabotage and attacks,” Kirill Stremusov, the Russian-appointed deputy head of the Kherson region, said on social media. Ukrainian troops have been pushing closer to the city in recent months, and its capture by Kyiv would be a major defeat for Moscow. News on Sunday of the holiday followed reports by Russian officials that the Kakhovka dam, also in Kherson, had been damaged by a Ukrainian strike. The dam feeds the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014 and used as a launch pad to launch its campaign in Ukraine. Separately, the Russian security services (FSB) announced the arrest of nine members of an “intelligence and sabotage group” of Ukrainian forces. The FSB in a statement accused the group of planning attacks against senior officials based in Russia and working in Kherson. Explosives, grenades, ammunition and a car bomb were seized during the arrests and an investigation into “international terrorism” was launched, the FSB said. As Ukraine presses a counter-offensive in the south, Moscow’s forces have said they are turning Kherson into a “fortress”. They have been staging a civilian withdrawal from the Kherson region for weeks as Ukrainian troops advance, which Kyiv has described as “displacements”.
