The former head of Estonian foreign intelligence has acknowledged that Kiev’s summer offensive has been brought to a standstill by the “long defensive lines along the entire length of the front” prepared by Russia. How have Russian troops been able to halt the NATO-trained, armed and equipped Ukrainian forces? Sputnik spoke to experts to find out.

The colloquially named ‘Surovikin Defensive Line’ has thrashed Ukrainian forces, with the Russian military reporting thousands of enemy casualties and the destruction of nearly 200 tanks and over 400 armored vehicles over the past two weeks.

Named after Sergei Surovikin, the Russian general who commanded the Joint Group of Forces in the Special Military Operation Zone last fall and winter, and who was charged with the task of preparing Russian defenses for a Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Surovikin Line consists of vast networks of zigzag infantry trenches, anti-tank dragon’s teeth, berms and minefields across a frontline that stretches hundreds of kilometers.

Kiev’s long-awaited counteroffensive – expected since March, began in early June, and is now widely acknowledged to have bogged down, with even senior Ukrainian officials and their Western patrons admitting in recent days that Ukrainian forces have wasted significant resources and lives probing the highly-fortified Russian defensive lines.

“The Ukrainians are yet to push deeply into Russian defensive lines,” Rainer Sachs, the former head of Estonian Foreign Intelligence who until about a month ago believed that Kiev had been successful in “creating the preconditions” for an offensive, said this week. “Russia considers it very important to hold onto the southern part of the front, so more defensive lines have been built there,” the intelligence analyst said.

The term ‘Surovikin Line’ is actually a product of Western tabloid media, and was originally used to mock Russia’s military preparations, and dismissed as “grandiosely senseless” and “completely insane in terms of uselessness – but wildly expensive in terms of execution cost.”

The past weeks have proven otherwise, with President Putin announcing late last week that despite some local gains, Ukrainian forces failed to penetrate even the first layer of the network of defensive lines anywhere along the front, instead becoming trapped and facing horrendous casualties.

“US intelligence had predicted only modest territorial gains for the Ukrainian spring offensive because Russian defensive preparations have been so extensive,” former US Army combat arms and HQ staff officer David T. Pyne told Sputnik.

Citing reports that Ukrainian troops have taken ten times more casualties and lost three times more tanks than Russian forces in the past two weeks, Pyne said that “the longer the counteroffensive continues, the heavier Ukrainian casualties will be and the more vulnerable Ukraine will be to a Russian counteroffensive that could enable Russia to take control over western Donetsk [Region] and perhaps Kharkov [Region] as well.”

If that happens, Pyne said, “the peace terms Russia will offer will likely be significantly worse than the peace terms it is offering Ukraine today.” Accordingly, he said, “Western leaders must face the reality that there is no chance Ukraine can defeat Russia and therefore we must negotiate the best deal for Ukraine we can get without further delay.”

Boyan Bilbia, a columnist and former editor at Politika, Serbia’s oldest newspaper, says the last weeks have demonstrated that defeating the Russian defensive network “now looks like an absolutely impossible mission even for a much more powerful military force than Ukraine,” and agreed with Pyne that Kiev and its backers should start peace negotiations immediately.

“I think officials in Kiev understand that the long-awaited counteroffensive which has already been underway for several weeks and may last several more is unlikely to achieve any of the goals and objectives set,” Bilbia told Sputnik Serbia, referencing the lofty goals of cutting off the so-called “land bridge” in Zaporozhye and Kherson connecting mainland Russia and Crimea.

“It would be something out of the realm of science fiction if Kiev could, progressing at the same pace as they are now, turn the tide of hostilities, occupy Crimea and so on. It looks absolutely unrealistic. For Ukraine, it’s better to start peace negotiations as soon as possible, because the situation for Kiev will continue to get worse and worse,” the journalist predicted.

Key to Success: ‘Layered Defenses’

The key to the success of Russia’s defenses is their “layered defense of three lines,” Bilbia said.

“The defense of the first line is conducted not to the bitter end, but to the extent that it can be without losses. The Ukrainians were barely able to break through the first, ‘simplest’ layer in some areas of this three-layer line, which in some places has a depth of up to 30 km,” he said.

Lebanese military expert Amin Hteyt calls the Surovikin Line is “unique and unprecedented” in its construction and reliance on “a sequential plan that takes into account all possible attacks and actions of the enemy,” and based on strongpoints which simultaneously allow for offensive and defensive operations..

“This made it possible [for Russia] to take the enemy by surprise, which sowed panic among Ukrainian fighters and led to their demoralization. They were virtually powerless in the face of continuous firepower which prevented them from making a breakthrough on the front line,” Hteyt told Sputnik Arabic.

“The line is based on the construction of both stationary and mobile defenses simultaneously, and is effective not only in fortified areas, but also has advantages in terms of fire and supporting troops moving in depth. The line is characterized by its unprecedented intensity of fire and the ability to move in three directions at once, which made it possible to destroy Ukrainian Armed Forces at several points. There is no possibility of a breakthrough by Ukrainian forces, since all existing lines adapt to an offensive and contain it extremely effectively,” the observer said.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230621/surovikin-defensive-line-impregnable-kiev-should-sue-for-peace-to-avoid-further-losses-1111373042.html

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Lieutenant Colonel Tony Shaffer goes over the hard realities of the Russia Ukraine war. Colonel Shaffer breaks down what is happening in the Russia Ukraine war with Zelenskyy and Putin. We are not being told the full truth of this war just like with other wars of the past. The American people want peace but the military industrial congressional complex wants war because war is good for their donors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU-krTVppWs

SEE ALSO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY6IAX21IT8

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