Satellite images show Russia is making a big gamble on how it plans to defend territory near Crimea from Ukraine

• There are defensive lines and positions set up by the Russians.

• They focus on roads and highways instead of fields.

• Putin's troops are at risk of beingVulnerable to Ukrainian offensives.

In the wake of its recent defeat in Kherson, a key southern city that was under Russian occupation since the early days of the war, Russia is gambling big on how it will defend against further Ukrainian advances.

Recent satellite images captured by Maxar Technologies and obtained by Insider show multiple Russian defensive positions in the eastern Kherson region, above the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Russian defensive positions have been built along critical ground lines of communication like roads and highways and connect Russian forces at the Dnipro River with other occupied areas to the southeast.

A decades-old strategy consisting of hardened fortifications that are built to slow and stop heavy armor exists in these positions. The positions are more likeborate roadblock that don't stray too far from the roads or into the fields.

Russian military leadership is worried that Ukrainian forces could advance across the Dnipro River and into the lower Kherson region, according to I SW. While Russia is focused on defending roads and highways, it ignores the real possibility that Ukraine could advance across open terrain.

Ukrainian tanks and tracked vehicles were able to cut through fields or assault Russian positions from their more vulnerable flank.

George Barros, an expert with the I SW, told Insider that they are not arrayed in such a way to create long, coherent defensive lines. This shows that the Russians don't expect a cross-country drive and that they have vulnerabilities on the road.

Russian forces may be vulnerable to Ukrainian encirclement if they are able to advance from the eastern and western flanks. Russia's communication lines could be threatened by Ukrainian strikes.

Russian forces are limiting themselves in their ability to conduct offensive operations in the area because of the defensive lines.

It remains to be seen how the retaking of Kherson will be followed by a counteroffensive in the northeast of the country. Thousands of square miles of territory have been liberated by Ukrainian forces since the summer.

In the past, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to expel Russian troops from the entire of the country. On Thursday, a top Ukrainian military official said Russia does not plan to give up territory adjacent to the occupied Crimean peninsula, signaling that a tough fight lies ahead.

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