Russia Scrambling to Fortify 'Linchpin' Town Near Ukraine Frontline

Russian forces in southern Ukraine are likely beefing up their defenses around the "linchpin" Zaporizhzhia town of Tokmak because of "growing concern" over Kyiv pressing on through Russian lines in the annexed region, according to the British Defense Ministry.

"In recent days, Russian forces have likely reinforced their defenses around the occupied town of Tokmak in southern Ukraine," the U.K. government said in an intelligence update on Sunday.

Tokmak, around 10 miles behind the current front lines in Zaporizhzhia, lies in Ukraine's path to the occupied city of Melitopol, and ultimately to the Sea of Azov. Kyiv's counteroffensive has broken through the first line of Russian defenses around the recently reclaimed town of Robotyne, to the northeast of Tokmak, Ukraine's military said earlier this month.

Kyiv said in late August that it had seized control of Robotyne back from Moscow, and a Russian-backed official in Zaporizhzhia told state television that the Kremlin's armed forces had "tactically abandoned" the town more than a week later.

Some Ukrainian officials have suggested that Russia's first line of defenses around Robotyne were the most heavily fortified of the several layers in place in Zaporizhzhia.

"There is a very big difference between the first and second line of defense," Ukraine's commander of the Tavria group of forces, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, told British newspaper The Observer at the beginning of September, suggesting fewer Russian resources were pooled into the second and third lines.

"Tokmak is preparing to become a linchpin of Russian's second main line of defenses," the British government said in a post to social media. Putting in place improvements to Tokmak's defenses "likely indicates Russia's growing concern about Ukrainian tactical penetrations of the first main defensive line to the north," the ministry added.

Russian forces are setting up checkpoints and anti-tank "hedgehogs" in Tokmak, the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, said earlier this week.

"Russia is likely deploying additional checkpoints, 'hedgehog' anti-tank defenses and digging new trenches in the area, which is held by its 58th Combined Arms Army," the British government said on Sunday.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

In an operational update on Sunday morning, Ukraine's General Staff said its soldiers were continuing to attack Russian positions towards Melitopol, "causing occupation troops significant losses in manpower and equipment, forcing the enemy to withdraw from occupied positions."

Ukraine's fighters had "partial success" around the village of Verbove, to the east of Robotyne, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Russia's Defense Ministry said it had repelled 18 Ukrainian attacks around Robotyne and Verbove in the past week.