“Dragon Teeth” How Russia is going to continue the Ukrainian offensive
Russia is building many kilometers of fortifications in the Lugansk, Donetsk and Kherson regions, as well as on the border with Ukraine. They are supposed to be transactions with rows of concrete tank gouges – “dragon teeth” – which were widely observed during World War II to ensure the availability of anti-tank vehicles and infantry. With this unified defense line, there is no where exactly and what kind of search for protected areas is guarded – classified information, says a source in the Ministry of Defense.
Wagner and Surovikin lines
In connection with September with the St. Petersburg businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, RIA FAN reported that the appointment of PMC Wagner to him began to build a defense line near the city of Gorskoye, Lugansk region. According to the map published by RIA FAN, the “Wagner Line” should stretch east from the Russian-Ukrainian border to Kremennaya, and south to Svetlodarsk. The length of the line can be reached 217 km, grade CNN. Then Prigozhin will build these defensive lines along the entire border with Ukraine.
Wagner, a private military company, was founded in 2014 and is owned by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin and has been involved in conflicts in Ukraine, research, and the Central African Republic. Earlier, Prigozhin denied his connection with PMCs; in 2017, the company fell under Western sanctions. Now the “Wagnerites” are fighting in Ukraine along with thousands of professional military personnel, according to some estimates, the size of a group of 35 people.
The first mention in the media of the “Surovikin Line” dates back to November 21. Two weeks later Commander-in-Chief of the Military Space Forces Sergei Surovikin, professor, head of the joint group group in Ukraine. Prior to this, Surovikin infected a group of Russian troops in diagnostics and a year ago he received the epaulettes of a general.
The “Surovikin Line” was built on the left bank of the Dnieper, where the Russian army withdrew after the surrender of Kherson. “They say her line is called Surovikina. Defense in depth, anti-tank ditches, gouges, trenches, trenches, pillboxes, minefields will protect not only and not so much the Kherson region and Crimea from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the insane orders of Kyiv, ”- wrote Russia today.
A different opinion about the effectiveness of the line is shared by the former Minister of Defense of the DPR, Igor Strelkov. In his own telegram channel, he call her “useless and wildly expensive”. “The troops are fighting “by inertia”, only guessing about the vague plans of the command based on the outgoing senseless movements, like the construction of the Surovikin Line, which is completely insane in terms of utility (but wildly expensive in terms of implementation cost), ”writes Strelkov.
A serviceman stationed in Ukraine told The Moscow Times that the “Surovikin Line” stretches for more than a hundred kilometers.
Notch line for the precast concrete plant
In mid-October, he also announced that he was dealing with his representative. construction of “defensive structures” in the Belgorod region. Governor of the region Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed construction of a line of defense along the border with Ukraine, called its new “notch line”. This term was previously used to describe the approaches that in the 16th-17th centuries protected the Russian kingdom from the Crimean-Nogai raids.
The length of the Belgorod fortifications is unknown. Judging by the photographs published by Governor Gladkov, the line of equipment is limited to the maximum by continuous rows of “dragon teeth”. Gladkov did not disclose the details of the work on the border surveillance equipment, citing the fact that his statement “may be stored.”
According to political scientist, researcher of the army and the military-industrial complex Pavel Luzin, the construction of a defense line in the Belgorod region is not of particular importance, but it can be profitable in terms of costs and business.
“Local precast concrete and cement factories are working on the construction of the line, often affiliated with local officials, who have reduced the number of orders in the war. So it could all turn out to be another budget cut.”
Belgorod uses a logistics hub to supply the Russian army, so it is on target, but it’s hard to imagine that Ukraine is invading Russia, said Colin Smith, a senior researcher at the US research center RAND.
“Given how big the land border between Russia and Ukraine is, I think building a giant wall between the two countries is a waste of resources,” says Smith. “Therefore, I believe that the line in Belgorod is being built purely symbolically – to make it clear to the population that they are being protected,” he says.
At the same time, lines of defense with “dragon’s teeth” and other buildings are still effective, Smith said.
The very existence of such funds forces a change in the direction of the attack. If you go ahead – there is a big risk of becoming a consistent target for artillery, since it takes time to destroy the “teeth” (destroy or move them).
“According to my goals, the Wagner line has goals. Where possible, they have anticipated or prevented a Ukrainian offensive. In addition, well-established boundaries make it possible to reduce the use of personnel and equipment for their use. This frees up material and natural resources for their use in other regions,” the expert believes.
How much do dragon teeth cost?
There is no information on the acquisition of defensive concrete structures on the official public procurement portal. But on the Avito website you can find two dozen advertisements for the sale of “dragon teeth” from entrepreneurs from Sevastopol, Krasnodar Territory, Rostov, Voronezh, Belgorod and other European countries. Them withthe cost varies from 5,000 to 16,000 rubles per piece – depending on the size, brand of concrete and other parameters. For production, we are ready to deliver “dragon’s teeth” in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, Mariupol, as well as in the border regions of Russia.
Modern sketches on the placement of “dragon teeth” The Moscow Times could not be found, but according to the recommendation Military Engineering Journal (No. 10, 1944), the distance between structures in a row should be about four meters. AT article eighty years Russian army and Soviet army engineer Yuri Veremeev it is assumed that the distance between the “naugers” should be slightly less. The main tanks of the Ukrainian army are the Soviet T-64 and T-72. Their width is just over 3.4 meters. At the same time, buildings should be built in 4 rows, so one kilometer of fortifications requires reaching “dragon’s teeth”.
With an average product price of 10,000 rubles the cost of one kilometer of household equipment can be estimated at 10 million rubles. If built according to Soviet recommendations, Concrete structures alone for the Wagner Line at 217 km will cost 2.2 billion rubles (excluding cost, installation and trenching).
These calculations can probably be applied to the Surovikin and Gladkov lines as well. Earlier edition of “Layout” with reference to source in the Belgorod government grade the cost of fortification work in industry is “several billion rubles”.
If, hypothetically, Russia decides to generalize the designs of all vehicles with Ukraine – and this is about 2,500 kilometers – the cost will be 25 billion rubles, excluding transportation and installation. Wherein, according to The Moscow TimesRussia spends almost a billion rubles per hour, so the cost of a defense easy line is heavy spending per day.