Fortifications lag, but key priorities completed, says General Staff source
In the situation with fortifications at the front, not everything is as good as it would be, but most of the priority measures have already been carried out, a source at the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told LIGA.net.
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"We are gradually growing [them]. Inspection groups are working in risk areas so that it is possible to quickly find out what needs to be improved. Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Sumy – most of them will be completed," he said.
The General Staff added that the best situation with fortifications is in Zaporizhzhya Oblast – in May, the contractors should hand over the fortifications to the Defense Forces.
The total length of the front as of May 19 is 3,750 km – and off the record the Ministry of Defense tells LIGA.net that up to 10,000 km of non-explosive barriers should be created on this line.
The process of carrying out these works is controlled by the Ministry of Defense, and the administrators are military-civilian administrations.
On May 12, the Ukrainian segment of social networks and some mass media spread information about the alleged lack of fortifications in the Kharkiv sector. In March, the State Border Guard Service told LIGA.net that in the north it is impossible to build fortifications on the border itself – and they are being built "as close as possible" to where it can be done.
The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council claims that the information about the lack of defensive lines in Kharkiv Oblast is a Russian information-psychological operation.
MP Solomiya Bobrovska from Golos reported that two of the most painful issues – fortifications and drones – were combined into a temporary special commission of the Ukrainian parliament. The purpose of the TSC is to find out whether the works on the construction of fortifications were completed, to what extent, by whom and how budget funds were used.
