London, 17 September 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Russia appears to have strengthened its defensive positions around the occupied town of Tokmak in southern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region in recent days, the British Ministry of Defence said.

Anti-tank systems have been erected and new trenches dug around the strategically important town and logistical hub, which lies some 16 kilometres from the front line, the ministry said on Sunday in its daily intelligence update on the war.

"Tokmak is preparing to become a lynchpin of Russian’s second main line of defences," the ministry wrote on social media platform X.

"Improvements to the town’s defences likely indicates Russia’s growing concern about Ukrainian tactical penetrations of the first main defensive line to the north."

The British Ministry of Defence has been publishing daily updates on the war's progress since the Russian war in Ukraine began in February 2022. Moscow accuses London of disinformation.

Photo: EPA