There is a shorter line well south that covers some distance on the land bridge, just north of Melitopol, from Semenivka to Domuzly, but that isn’t new: it is a year old.
I don’t know what the purpose of that line is – maybe it’s to buy time for other forces to retreat before the M14 is cut by Ukrainian infantry, but it’s 23 km from the water at the west end and 28 km from the water at the east end. And only 15 km from the M14. If Ukranian artillery can get anywhere near that point, the M14 highway, the southernmost east-west link on the land bridge, will already be within artillery range, as will land stretching up to the Sea of Azov. I doubt that it’ll be realistic for Russia to hold the land bridge as a supply route in that event.
There is a shorter line well south that covers some distance on the land bridge, just north of Melitopol, from Semenivka to Domuzly, but that isn’t new: it is a year old.
I don’t know what the purpose of that line is – maybe it’s to buy time for other forces to retreat before the M14 is cut by Ukrainian infantry, but it’s 23 km from the water at the west end and 28 km from the water at the east end. And only 15 km from the M14. If Ukranian artillery can get anywhere near that point, the M14 highway, the southernmost east-west link on the land bridge, will already be within artillery range, as will land stretching up to the Sea of Azov. I doubt that it’ll be realistic for Russia to hold the land bridge as a supply route in that event.