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Ukraine Digs in and Hopes For the Best in “Spring Defensive”

Ukraine Digs in and Hopes For the Best in “Spring Defensive”

A Ukrainian soldier exits a foxhole dug into the side of a trench at the Kherson border region village, outside of Mykolaiv on October 31, 2022. (Photo by BULENT KILIC / AFP) (Photo by BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE REPORTING - Ukraine is spending $800 million to build trenches and multilayered fortifications along a 600-mile front line in the eastern part of the country to stop advancing Russian troops. While Russia looks to capitalize on recent battlefield gains, Ukraine isn’t planning for fresh ground offensives of its own; it’s planning what might be called a spring defensive.

What a difference a year makes.

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