In the Dnipropetrovsk region, there is a major problem with the construction of fortifications

The Dnipropetrovsk region spent $7.3 million on fortifications over the past year, but “the invested money has not brought significant benefits, and work only intensified about two months ago.”

This is reported by the Financial Times citing Ukrainian officials.

Sources told journalists about gaps in the defensive lines of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) that put the Dnipropetrovsk region at risk. Problematic areas are located between Velyka Novosilka and Kurakhove, as well as Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, where the second line of fortifications is still under construction and the third line has not even been initiated.

“Fighting makes this incredibly dangerous for builders, and the direction of attacks constantly changes. If they begin attacking in the direction of the Dnipropetrovsk region, we will face a threat from yet another direction,” officials said.

An infantry commander, speaking anonymously to *FT*, stated that his unit had relocated 32 times during the war and each time had to construct its own defensive positions and raise money for the work. Second and third defensive lines were often built without consulting the troops, either in the wrong location or too far from the front line.

Additionally, environmental laws limit tree felling for Ukrainian defense construction.

“The Russians are cutting down our trees left and right, and we can’t use them to build our trenches!? We’ve seen the fortifications the Russians built on our land. If we had done the same, the situation in Pokrovsk wouldn’t have happened,” the military officer said.

Another issue with fortification efforts is the mass reassignment of military engineers to assault units and the mobilization of civilian builders.

“Right now, the system is either not working at all or working to a very limited extent,” stated Stanislav Bunyatov, commander of an assault battalion.