The UK Ministry of Defence has published its daily update on the situation in Ukraine

The UK Ministry of Defence has published its daily update on the situation in Ukraine, Qazet.az reports according to its intelligence sources.

It said Russia had an “almost continuous trench system” for a 60km stretch between Svatove in Luhansk oblast and the Russian border.

The MoD added, however, that the depth of the defence remained “unclear”.

Svatove is a small city to the north of Luhansk city. The region has been occupied since Russia’s initial invasion in 2014.

The MoD said Russia’s 1st Guards Tank Army is partially deployed near Svatove but the “supposedly elite” group took heavy casualties earlier in the war, including in the retreat from Kharkiv in September 2022.

“It has now been partially reinforced with mobilised reservists, although remaining well below its authorised strength of over 25,000 personnel,” the update added.