The Ukrainian parliament has established a temporary special commission (TSC) to oversee the construction of fortifications in Kharkiv Oblast, while the State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the quality of these fortifications. However, military personnel are subject to a gag order, prohibiting them from discussing the issue with journalists.
Consequently, reporters who broach the topic are accused of bias and furthering Russian propaganda, as discovered by Slidstvo.Info journalists who spoke with soldiers from three different brigades of the Defense Forces, which are holding back the enemy’s offensive in Kharkiv Oblast. The command subjected some soldiers to “educational conversations” and warned them against discussing fortification-related matters with the press.
“We were not properly assembled, but all those who say something about the fortifications, or (commanders — ed.) know what they may say, were spoken to,” revealed one of the soldiers.
We are not disclosing the names of the units or the names or call signs of the soldiers we spoke to, so as not to expose them to pressure from their commanders.
We would like to stress that this piece does not present an overall picture of the readiness of the defense lines in the region, but rather describes censorship and pressure on the military and journalists for covering the issue.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
The Russian offensive in the north of Kharkiv Oblast, which began in the first half of May, was met by the Defense Forces brigades that were redeployed to reinforce the area. They managed to hold back the enemy’s advance. However, the Russians still managed to advance successfully in two sectors: near the town of Vovchansk and the Lyptsi territorial community. This provoked discussions about the quality of the fortifications that have been built in the region since 2022.
For example, on May 13, in a column for Ukrayinska Pravda, the head of the Anti-Corruption Center Mezha stated that the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration had paid millions for the construction of fortifications to fictitious companies. In turn, the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center calculated the public funds spent on wood for this purpose, noting that in some places it was more expensive in Kharkiv Oblast than in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk oblasts. The SBU Security Service also initiated an investigation into the possible overpricing of the defense line construction.
WHAT DOES THE MILITARY SAY ABOUT THE FORTIFICATIONS?
The military themselves have broached the topic of problems with the level of readiness of fortifications and their quality. The commander of the intelligence unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Denys Yaroslavskyi, said on May 12 that street fighting was taking place in Vovchansk and highlighted that there were no fortifications or mines on the border of the region, which had been crossed by the occupation forces. The day before that, the National Guard unit “Gostri Kartuzy” reported that the Ukrainian military had withdrawn from some positions.
After that, the possibility for journalists to work with the military in the area was temporarily suspended. And “educational conversations” were held with some of the soldiers.
“We were told not to mention the fortifications, not to mention the offensive, not to mention the lost villages. Do not bring anything to the public. They didn’t give any reasons. They only said that you were working for the enemy. But the fortifications are very sh*tty, really sh*tty – we have to rebuild everything from scratch,” says one of the soldiers interviewed by the journalists.
Cases when soldiers had to complete their positions on their own are not uncommon. Another unit told Slidstvo.info that in their case, the unit had to be placed in an old Russian dugout because the new fortifications had not been completed.
“A line of fortifications has been built here since 2022 and has not been completed. The guys were sent to these fortifications, knowing that they should be there, but the fortifications were never completed. And the guys have now pulled back a little into an old Russian dugout, they are arranging a place for their position, for housing, and then they will move here… That is, they did not complete it in time. Our unit was unlucky as we will have to complete it ourselves,” a soldier said.
Another source of the journalists notes that this situation occurred due to underestimation of the enemy.
“The fact is that in order to hold back such a strong enemy, we need a lot of fortifications. They did not count on such a number of people here, so the guys are digging dugouts and trenches,” said a serviceman.
At the same time, the construction of defense lines in Kharkiv Oblast has been ongoing since 2022. In May, Slidstvo.Info journalists spent several hours at a construction site of one of the platoon posts.
The construction of the platoon posts in the areas of the Russian breakthrough continued very close to the offensive. The engineering brigade company in the Slidstvo.info report was withdrawn from its positions and evacuated its equipment from near Lyptsi as early as May 10.
The platoon post under construction near the front line transformed into a “point zero” instead of the intended “second line” of defense. It was not completed in time. In the report, the deputy commander of the engineering brigade company claims that they managed to excavate the necessary structures but ran out of time to reinforce them with wood.
In addition to the absence or incompleteness of fortifications, some soldiers in a conversation with Slidstvo.info journalists also complained about the quality of the work performed.
“There is a concrete box in the middle of a field. Even f**kers build such fortifications near plantations, at high altitudes, so that logistics can be done along the plantation, so that you are at least less visible. In our case, there was a piece here, a piece there – there was no solid line. In some places, it was done right in a pit. All the flood waters will go down there, and you won’t be able to see anything,” a soldier commented.
REACTION TO CRITICISM IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE
After the CNN story, in which a soldier of the 13th National Guard Brigade “Khartiia” also highlighted that the fortifications on their site were not prepared, the unit issued a public statement about the alleged falsity and bias of this statement.
“It is important for us that the information about our unit is objective, and that the comments of our fighters and commanders are understood not as individual quotes, but have a clear and unambiguous context,” their statement reads.
They also tried to influence the story of Slidstvo.info journalists, which touched on the topic of fortifications in Kharkiv Oblast.
In particular, they asked to remove all soldiers’ references to the problems with missing or uncompleted fortifications. They tried to “convince” the journalists for three straight days. Representatives of different levels were involved in this. Some of them appealed to the fact that the topic of fortifications is now a “political issue” and that mentioning specific units in this context could lead to “pressure on them from above.”
The overall picture of the fortifications in Kharkiv Oblast is difficult to see for several reasons. First, because of the divided responsibility. To put it crudely: the Defense Forces themselves are responsible for the construction of the “first line,” engineering brigades are responsible for the “second line,” and local military authorities are responsible for the “third line.” Secondly, it is impossible to officially answer the question “How ready is the ‘second line’ of defense?” The Support Forces say that such information could be useful to the enemy.
At the moment, journalists find themselves in a situation where trying to cover the fighting in the Kharkiv Oblast, they either have to keep silent about the issue of fortifications (which the military themselves tell them about) or talk about these problems, running the risk of being banned from working in this area and creating problems for the military themselves, who are holding back the Russian offensive there.
In any case, everyone loses. Because the problems remain, and the front line is shifting not in Ukraine’s favor.
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