Russia Has World's 'Most Extensive Systems' Of Military Defensive Works: UK Defense Ministry

Russia has built the most extensive defensive systems in the world since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, an intelligence report suggested Monday.

According to the report published by the U.K. Ministry of Defense, Russia's new military defensive systems are "unseen anywhere in the world." The systems have been deployed both on the frontlines in the war in Ukraine as well as in areas currently under Russian control.

Apart from the new systems, Russia has begun fortifying the northern border of the temporarily-occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea, the report said. Moscow has also ordered the digging of hundreds of miles of trenches in Russian regions, including in the Belgorod and Kursk Oblast.

The British Defense Ministry said these factors could signal that Russian leaders are concerned about a possible major breakthrough by Ukrainian forces when they launch their much-anticipated counteroffensive.

It is unclear when exactly Ukraine will launch its counteroffensive. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov last week said they are "mostly ready" for the counteroffensive and only making final preparations for the operation.

Reznikov's statement followed remarks by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg who said Ukraine is in a "strong" position to take back Russian-occupied territories in the east.

Ukraine is expected to use Germany's Leopard tanks, Britain's Challenger tanks, America's Strykers and Bradleys and other infantry fighting vehicles it received from Western allies. These tanks are more advanced than the Soviet-era equipment Ukraine used when it launched a successful counteroffensive in Kharkiv and Kherson Oblasts last year.

Ukraine has also received MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland. While these boost Ukraine's air fighting capabilities, Kyiv is still outmatched by Russia in air capability, per The Hill.

Ukraine has so far kept silent on its plans for the counteroffensive. It is, however, expected to make a push toward two main directions: the Crimean Peninsula — which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 — and the Zaporizhzhia region — home to the contested Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Should Ukraine successfully take back Zaporizhzhia, it could open a path for a push toward the Crimean peninsula, effectively cutting Russian troops off their supply routes.