Ukraine's quick building of defensive positions slowing down Russia on frontline

Ukraine has "almost certainly" sped up the building of defensive positions along the frontline, which is slowing Russian forces down, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has said.

In the latest defence update on X, formerly known as Twitter, the MOD said Ukraine, in several positions, has accelerated the construction of "anti-tank dragons teeth and ditches, infantry trenches, minefields, and fortified defensive positions".

"It is highly likely the expansion of defensive lines will reduce Russia's ability to advance or exploit tactical gains as part of its ongoing offensive operations,” the update said.

• Ship killers: Ukraine's mysterious Group 13 special forces unit terrorising Russian warships
• Get defence wrong and tax cuts won't matter – we need armoured mass now
• Sitrep: German leak down to officers' 'arrogance' - and Russia could do the same to UK

"The establishment of major defensive positions is indicative of the attritional character of the conflict and means that any attempt to conduct breaching operations will highly likely be accompanied with high losses."

It comes as the Defence Secretary Grant Shapps announced the UK would send Ukraine more than 10,000 drones in a £325m package that was announced during his visit to Kyiv.

The aid deal added £125m on top of the £200m package previously announced by the Prime Minister.

It will deliver drones for first-person view (FPV), one-way attack – being researched and developed in the UK – and surveillance and maritime purposes.

It was also reported last week that Russia is losing fighter jets 20 times faster than they can be replaced, with Ukraine reportedly inflicting significant losses on Russia's air force.

That was according to Nicholas Aucott, the senior military advisor at the UK Delegation to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.