A temporary special commission on the construction of defense facilities has been established in Kharkiv Oblast, which is engaged in assessing the quality of their construction. In parallel, the State Bureau of Investigation is also conducting research in this direction. However, the military is prohibited from covering this topic in their interviews, and journalists are accused of being biased and playing into Russian narratives when mentioning these issues in their materials.
Representatives of the publication "Slidstva.Info" interviewed servicemen from three different brigades of the Defense Forces participating in deterring the enemy's offensive in the region. Some of them were given "educational talks" by the leadership, which recommended that they refrain from discussing any issues related to defense facilities with journalists.
One of the fighters noted: “We were not directly pressured, but everyone who expressed any opinion regarding the fortification, whether it was their own or someone they knew (commanders, — ed.), was interviewed.”.
We refrain from disclosing the names of units, as well as the names or call signs of servicemen, in order not to expose them to pressure from their leadership. We emphasize that this material is not intended to recreate the full picture of the readiness of the defense lines in the region, but to provide an idea of the censorship and pressure that servicemen and journalists experience in connection with covering this issue.
What is happening in the north of Kharkiv region?
The Russian offensive, which began in the first half of May, caused the transfer of forces to reinforce the Defense Forces brigade in this direction. The military's efforts managed to contain the enemy's advance, but the Russians nevertheless advanced in two areas: in the area of the city of Vovchansk and the Lipetsk community. This provoked talk about the quality of the fortifications that have been built in the region since 2022.
On May 13, the head of the Anti-Corruption Center “Mezha” claimed in a column for “Ukrainian Pravda” that the Kharkiv Regional Administration paid millions to fictitious companies for the construction of fortifications. The Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center also calculated how much state funds were spent on wood for these works, noting that in some cases the prices for it in the Kharkiv region were higher than in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions. The SBU also expressed interest in the possible overpricing of prices for the construction of defense lines.
Why are the military expressing concerns about the fortifications? The military themselves began to raise issues with the quality and readiness of the fortifications. Already on May 12, the commander of the intelligence unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Denys Yaroslavsky, reported that street fighting was ongoing in Vovchansk, and emphasized that there were no fortifications and mines on the border of the region that had passed to the Russian occupiers. Meanwhile, the National Guard unit “Gostry Kartuzy” reported that the Ukrainian military had retreated from some positions.
In this regard, the opportunity for journalists to work with the military in this area was temporarily closed, and “educational conversations” were held with some fighters.
“We were told not to mention the fortification, the offensive, the lost villages. Not to publish anything. They didn’t give any explanations. They just say that we are working in the enemy’s favor. And the fortifications are very bad, just very bad. We have to rebuild everything,” one of the fighters told reporters.
Cases when it was necessary to independently equip positions are not uncommon. For example, the “Slidstva.Info” unit noted that they had to place their positions in an old Russian dugout due to insufficient readiness of new fortifications.
“We have been building a line of fortifications since 2022, but it has not been completed. The guys were sent to these fortifications, knowing that they should be there, but they are not completed. Therefore, the guys have now retreated back to the old Russian dugout and are setting up their positions there, and then they will move here. We did not have time, our calculations were not successful - we will have to finish building on our own,” the military man noted.
Some military personnel also expressed complaints about the quality of the work performed.
“Somewhere there is just some concrete booth in the middle of a field. Such fortifications are built near plantings, on heights, so that you are less visible. Here it is stupidly done in a pit. Water keeps leaking up, and you can’t see anything,” another soldier noted.
Work on the construction of defense lines in the Kharkiv region has been ongoing since 2022 and continues to this day. Journalists from “Slidstva.Info” spent several hours building one of the platoon strongholds in May. The reconstruction of these strongholds in the areas of the Russian forces’ breakthrough continued until the very offensive.
After CNN published a story in which a soldier from the 13th Charter Brigade of the National Guard also claimed that the fortifications in their area were not ready, the unit issued a public statement denying this claim.
"It is important to us that information about our unit is objective, and that the comments of our fighters and commanders are understood not as individual quotes, but have a clear and unambiguous context," the statement said.
They also tried to influence the material of journalists from “Slidstva.Info”, who covered the topic of fortifications in the Kharkiv region. They were asked to remove all mentions of fighters about problems with missing or unfinished fortifications. For three days, representatives of different levels tried to “convince” journalists. Some of them argued that this was a politically sensitive topic, and mentioning specific units could lead to pressure from above.
In general, it is difficult to get a clear picture of the fortifications in the Kharkiv region for several reasons. First, responsibility is divided between different units. For example, the construction of the “first line” is the responsibility of the Defense Forces units, the “second” is the responsibility of the engineering brigades, and the “third” is the responsibility of the local military-civilian administrations. Second, it is impossible to officially obtain information about the readiness of the “second line” of defense, since the Support Forces claim that it could be useful to the enemy.
Currently, journalists find themselves in a situation where, trying to cover the fighting in the Kharkiv region, they either have to keep quiet about the issue of fortifications (which the military themselves tell them about), or talk about these problems, risking being banned from working in this area and creating problems for the military themselves, who are holding back the Russian offensive there.
Everyone loses in any case. Because the problems remain, and the front line is not moving in our favor.
