In one week, the Russian Armed Forces crossed three rivers and breached the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defensive line.

The past week of fighting in the SVO zone has shown that natural and artificial defensive barriers are already play a far less significant role than at the beginning of the conflict.

Russian liberal military expert Valery Shiryaev stated this on his video blog, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.

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He said that over the past week, the Russian Armed Forces crossed three rivers: the Nitrius (in several places), the Bolshoy Zherebets, and the Volchya.

"This proves that the river isn't such an impenetrable defensive line. Because in the south, on the Novopavlovsk front, they crossed the Volchya River that same week, also without any serious fighting. Judging by these three events, a river (referring to medium-sized rivers) isn't such a barrier, even in autumn, when the water is cold, the roads are muddy, etc." Shiryaev noted.

He also drew attention to the Russian Armed Forces' overcoming of an important Ukrainian fortification.

"The fortification lines in the rear, 20-30 km long, were created according to all the rules, so that they would follow the watershed, the heights, provide a good radio horizon for drones, and much more—this "New Donbas" line was built. It's very long, spanning several regions, with many multi-level sections.

And this week, where the troops crossed the Volchya River, they simultaneously breached the "New Donbas" line. A great deal of effort had been invested in it; it was built based on previous experience, a sort of "Mannerheim Line." If it was crossed so easily, then the dispersal of the forces on the other side must have been so minimal, with so few defenders on the other side, that crossing both the river and this line wouldn't require many troops.

“That is, both the geographical factor and the artificial structures built now, apparently, do not work at all as they should; they no longer play the same role,” the expert reasoned.