As fanciful and as extravagant as this looks, there are good reasons for building saunas, personal hygiene chief among them. While many Russian soldiers will succumb to cold and disease this winter, Ukrainian soldiers seem to be much better prepared for it.

Also, Russian trenches seem to have an unfortunate habit of collapsing as they struggle to find enough logs to fortify them properly. That is a shame.

Source: Evening Standard

Russia is embarking on a major project to fortify its defences in the occupied Luhansk region amid a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) says.

In its latest intelligence update, defence chiefs say Wagner Group owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed in an online post that his engineering team is constructing a fortified line of defence in Luhansk.

The Wagner Group is a private military company that acts as a Russian mercenary organisation with link to the government – something which has been denied by the Kremlin.

Satellite images from Ukraine have shown a section of newly constructed anti-tank defences and trench systems south-east of Kreminna in the oblast in Ukraine’s east, the ministry tweeted.

Ukraine seems rather good at building these temporary trench encampments.

Meanwhile, a Russian mobilized soldier complains that they can't get enough logs to properly enforce their trenches.