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Russia is reportedly ramping up its defenses in preparation for possible street battles in Melitopol, a city in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia oblast, which President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed in September.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a United States think tank, said in its daily update of the war on Sunday that Russian forces are placing dragon's teeth anti-tank defenses in the city.
The development was first announced by Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov on his Telegram channel.
"[They] are placing concrete cones in the very center of Melitopol, which is still occupied, for the second day already," Fedorov wrote, according to an English translation. "Probably, over the past week, the occupiers got so frightened that they are already preparing for street battles."
"Russian 'dragon's teeth' are placed closer to civilians – in the middle of central streets and residential neighborhoods," he added.
The mayor published a photo that purports to show the concrete structures set up in the middle of a street.
The move comes after Ukraine last week claimed an attack on a key bridge used by Russian troops to transport military equipment into Melitopol. It appears to be part of an effort by Ukraine to ramp up its counteroffensive efforts in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukraine said it destroyed the key bridge that Russian forces used to transport military equipment across the Molochna River. The bridge connects the city of Melitopol and the village of Kostyantynivka in Zaporizhzhia.
Fedorov boasted about the attack in a Telegram post at the time.
"In Melitopol, the bridge that connected the city with the village of Kostyantynivka was 'tired,'" he wrote. "This is one of the strategically important objects after the 'fatigue' of the Crimean bridge. It was through [the bridge] that the occupiers transported military equipment from the eastern direction."
Fedorov added: "Well, rashists, the ZSU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] is already nearby. You will run away without looking back!"
Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti said an explosion on the bridge was triggered by explosives planted in the bridge's abutments, and that traffic across the span had been suspended.
Two days later, Ukraine targeted and destroyed two Russian ammunition depots.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's military has claimed to have inflicted serious damage against Russian forces in other parts of the Zaporizhzhia region.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on its Facebook page that its troops on December 14 destroyed units of military equipment and inflicted multiple casualties in the city of Tokmak.
"The Defense Forces destroyed up to 10 units of military equipment of different types. About 180 enemy soldiers were injured," it said.
On Thursday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces also said that Ukrainian forces targeted the region's Polohy and Berdyansk settlements.
Newsweek reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more