What's missing in Russian convoys: bulldozers

Russian convoy takes up positions in Zdvyzhivka, Ukraine

Bulldozers and other heavy earthmoving equipment are not what you immediately think of when considering an army invading a foreign nation, but they are enormously important if that army wants to defend itself.

I’ve studied satellite photos of Russian forces assembled to attack across the border from Ukraine before the invasion and satellite photos of the so-called “17 mile long convoy” that has been making its way south toward Kyiv from the Russian border. I’ve also watched CNN footage of passing Russian convoys shot near the Belgorod border crossing just north of Kharkiv. Neither the satellite photos or the video footage of the convoys on the move show any bulldozers or front-loaders or excavators being moved on flatbed trucks.

Why is this significant? Because bulldozers are the number one heavy earthmover when you’re building a dirt berm as a defensive perimeter around a combat position. When I was in Iraq and Afghanistan, I saw dozens bulldozers and front-loaders lined up in big fields in base camps outside Baghdad, Mosul, and Kandahar. They had been used to construct the gigantic dirt berms that defended those encampments. The base camps had been surrounded by 15 to 20 foot high dirt berms topped with razor wire with guardtowers constructed every couple of hundred yards. The berms were important for two reasons: they kept out insurgents bent on attacking the base camp on foot, and they prevented insurgents outside the base camp from firing RPG’s into the camp. RPG’s fire their warheads on a flat trajectory, and you must be able to see your target to aim at it and hit it when firing a rocket propelled grenade from the launcher held on your shoulder. The berms prevented this. Insurgents would have had to climb on top of the berms and shoot down at targets inside the camp like tents or motor pools or helicopters parked on airport tarmacs. Guards in towers along the berms prevented this.

The photo above shows a portion of the Russian convoy setting up along a road on the edge of Zdvyshivka, a small town near the Antonov Airport outside of Kyiv. They’re hard to see, but if you look closely in the lower left corner, you can see trucks lined up along a road and in a field next to some Ukrainian homes. More trucks can just barely be seen parked along a neighborhood street slightly concealed by trees. In fact, if you look really closely, it appears that Russian trucks have occupied four streets in the little suburban town. What you won’t see are bulldozers or any evidence that the Russians are building a defensive perimeter.

If I were to guess, I would say they are preparing to set up a battery of 155 mm cannons, or even a resupply depot or a field hospital. No matter what the purpose of the Russian trucks in the village, they are a military force in a hostile country, and from what I can see in the satellite photo, they are at least so far undefended.

What does this mean? It means that Ukrainian army soldiers or resistance fighters in Kyiv can wait until dark and use civilian cars or vans or panel trucks to drive the 25 miles out to Zdvyzhivka and conceal themselves in Ukrainian houses and then creep up on the Russian position and shoot at the enemy soldiers or vehicles or tents with RPG’s or AK-47’s. Or they could even use the cover of darkness to plant IED’s along the roadsides that could be detonated remotely or by some sort of pressure trigger when a truck or other vehicle drives over it.

What is the explanation for the Russian’s not moving bulldozers and other earthmoving equipment into Ukraine along with their combat units? I think Russian commanders calculated that they would be able to quickly subdue the Ukrainian army and resistance fighters and “take” the cities, and they wouldn’t need to be building defensive perimeters around artillery positions and field hospitals outside of Kyiv. Their overconfidence is leaving their soldiers vulnerable to attack as they move into positions to surround Kyiv and lay siege to the city. I’m sure the same is true with Russian positions around Kharkiv and other cities they plan to attack.

There’s an old saying that the best defense is a good offense. But when an offense stalls, you need good defensive perimeters to protect soldiers, combat equipment, ammunition depots, field hospitals and all the other stuff an army in the field needs. The arrogance of Putin and his generals is leaving his army exposed, and I’ll just bet the Ukrainian army and resistance fighters are ready to take advantage.