Russia Is Building “Dragon’s Teeth” Anti-Tank Structures in Ukraine: In a new intelligence update shared on Twitter, Britain’s Ministry of Defence described how Russian forces have begun constructing defensive structures throughout the southern city of Mariupol, with two plants now dedicated to producing concrete for pyramidal anti-tank structures.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 08 November 2022
Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/fECg067PQk
?? #StandWithUkraine ?? pic.twitter.com/QiRcrykcmd
— Ministry of Defence ?? (@DefenceHQ) November 8, 2022
The structures, known as “dragon’s teeth,” are expected to help Russian forces maintain control of the region in anticipation of further Ukrainian advances.
“Dragon’s teeth have likely been installed between Mariupol and Nikolske village; and from northern Mariupol to Staryi Krym village,” the update continues.
The defense structures could prove essential for Russia to maintain control of the land bridge that troops fought hard to secure between Crimea, the Donbas, and Russia – an essential link between the Russian-occupied peninsula and the Russian Federation’s mainland. The link between the two regions is a critical logistical connection that Ukrainian forces deliberately attempt to sever.
“Russia is fortifying its lines throughout areas of occupation,” British intelligence also reveals, with the update describing how private mercenaries from the Wagner Group are creating new “Wagner Lines” of defense in Luhansk Oblast.
The move not only helps prevent Ukrainian advances in the short term, but could give Russian forces crucial time to prepare for the bolstering of troops across the Donbas and the south. Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have already been deployed to Ukraine, with more than 200,000 troops still undergoing training.
Russian Ships Enter Mariupol Port
In a Telegram post this week, Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, revealed how Russian ships filled with military cargo arrived in the port of Mariupol for the first time.
According to Andriushchenko, the ships also contained medicine and medical supplies for the military hospital in the region as well as “hundreds of sets of military uniforms.”
The post contained a series of photographs showing the ships arriving in the port and also revealed new frustration from Russian soldiers about equipment being supplied to them. This time, the qualify of the uniforms arriving on the ships is the focus of Russian troops’ ire.
“The quality of military uniforms is currently the most important subject for sarcasm in the port’s occupation administration, because it is worse than the overalls of workers under Ukraine,” the post reads.
This week, it was revealed that North Korean garment factories are manufacturing and supplying large quantities of winter uniforms for Russian soldiers who are expected to continue fighting through the colder months and into the new year.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
