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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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Russian forces have built "extensive" defenses in southern Ukraine in preparation for Ukrainian forces moving to take the city of Melitopol, according to a new assessment.
Moscow's troops in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia have constructed "three layers of defensive zones" across around 120 kilometers, or 75 miles, of this area, the British defense ministry said Wednesday.
The front line, marking forward combat positions, is followed by two zones of "more elaborate" defenses, each separated by around six to 12 miles, the government department said in its daily update. Russian forces have conducted defensive operations in southern Ukraine, constructing trenches and "dragon's teeth fortifications," the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank said Tuesday.
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The defenses are likely the work of Russia's Southern Grouping of Forces, the ministry said, and the Kremlin's fighters likely put "significant effort" into these defenses because the leadership is "convinced Ukraine is considering an assault towards the city of Melitopol."
But their effectiveness relies on Russia's other capabilities, the ministry argued. Although they could pose "formidable obstacles," they will need to be supported by enough military personnel and artillery. It is not currently known whether the Southern Grouping of Forces are able to produce these, the ministry said.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment via email.
Melitopol was the first major Ukrainian settlement to be captured by Russian forces as all-out war began in February 2022. Moscow's defense ministry said the city was under Russian control just two days after the invasion got underway. The city is located in the Zaporizhzhia region which has also been declared as annexed by Russia.
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In early March, Russian authorities said Melitopol would replace the city of Zaporizhzhia as the regional capital. The decision would revert once Moscow's forces captured Zaporizhzhia, Russian officials said.
On March 19, the British defense ministry said the move was "tacit acknowledgment" by Moscow that its fighters would not succeed with previously set objectives anytime soon.
The exiled mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, told France 24 in an interview published on Monday that Russian occupation forces "are starting to panic" in the city, adding they are "increasing the pressure on our residents."
It is not yet clear whether the city—which has previously been labeled a gateway to the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula to the south of mainland Ukraine—will be a target of an expected counteroffensive from Kyiv's forces.
Details of the upcoming counteroffensive have not been made public by Ukrainian leaders, but leaked Pentagon documents that were shared online late last week appeared to indicate the counteroffensive period as beginning in April.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who is currently in Washington, D.C., told The Hill that Kyiv does "not feel the pressure from our friends and partners vis-à-vis the start of the offensive."
"All of our friends and partners do comprehend clearly that in order to go into counteroffensive, one must be 100 percent, and even more percent prepared to do so," he said.
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