The Kiev Fortified Region (Russian abbreviation КиУР, УР-1, 1-й укреплённый район, 1-й укрепрайон) is a

fortified district A fortified district or fortified region (, ukreplyonny raion, ukrepraion) in the military terminology of the Soviet Union, is a territory within which a complex system of defense fortifications was engineered. Each fortified district consiste ...

in the

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

area, a complex of defensive structures, consisting of permanent and field fortifications and engineering obstacles. It was built in the period from 1929 to 1941 for the protection of the old border of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The total length of the fortified region is about 85 km between the flanks, which are anchored on the river

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

, and the depth of the defensive zone ranges from 1 to 6 km. The fortifications had a significant impact in the fighting for the defence of the city in 1941.

Initial construction

According to Order No 90 of the

Revolutionary Military Council The Revolutionary Military Council (), sometimes called the Revolutionary War Council Brian PearceIntroductionto Fyodor Raskolnikov s "Tales of Sub-lieutenant Ilyin." or ''Revvoyensoviet'' (), was the supreme military authority of Soviet Rus ...

of the USSR, dated 19 March 1928, a program of fortifications on the country's borders was to be carried out, and in 1928, construction began on the first thirteen fortified regions, including Kiev. Building started in 1929. The defence zone was identified, and in it were built 120 long-term machine gun emplacements and 45 artillery observation and observation points in a construction program lasting 4 years, from 1929 to 1933. But in 1932, further construction of the fortified area was discontinued.

Second World War

After the annexation of the Poland's eastern territories in 1939,

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

wanted to push the Soviet defences up to the new borders, creating a series of new fortified regions. The old defences of the Stalin Line were neglected. Only in June 1940 did Stalin finally agree with

Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( 189618 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-ch ...

that the old Stalin Line should be partially manned, but the troops found the fortifications 'overgrown with grass' and completely lacking in fixed defences. The poor state of the Kiev defences was not unknown to the Soviet leadership: a

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

report from 1939 stated that 'Only 5 of the 257 structures in the area were prepared for combat' and went on to list a host of deficiencies ranging from uncleared forests limiting fields of fire, no communication or support equipment, and old seals which had decayed. The report went on to state that although the deficiencies had been reported, nothing had been done about them. Restoration of the Kiev fortified area began on June 24, 1941, when the commander of the Southwestern Front,

Mikhail Kirponos Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos (, , ; 12 January 1892 – 20 September 1941) was a Soviet general of the Red Army during World War II. Being accorded the highest military decoration, the Hero of the Soviet Union title, for the skill and courage in ...

, gave an order for the rehabilitation of the fortified area, including equipping and arming the pillboxes and the construction of field fortifications. For these tasks, the population of Kiev was mobilized. By 30 June 50,000 people were involved in the construction, by 2 July 160,000; in the last days of construction, 200,000 workers were involved. Since the original construction had not anticipated

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

attack, no specific measures had been incorporated into the defence system. To eliminate this drawback, 30 km and 15 km long

anti-tank ditch Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...

es were dug. Also installed were metal hedgehogs and anti-personnel obstacles, among them 16 km of electrified

barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...

and a large number of

minefield A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

s. By early July, the German advance had punched a hole in the centre of the Southern Front's defences, and on 9 July, thinking that Kiev was there for the taking, General von Kleist issued orders for

III Panzer Corps III Army Corps was a corps level formation of the German Army during World War II. III Army Corps The III Corps was formed in October 1934 as III. Armeekorps. The corps took part in Fall Weiss, the 1939 invasion of Poland as a part of Army Gro ...

to capture the city and establish a deep bridgehead east of the Dnieper.Haupt, Army Group South: the Wehrmacht in Russia, 1941-1945, p26 There are reports that the 37th Army drew some of its initial staff from the Fortified Region staff.

Pictures

File:ДОТ№108 КиУР — копия.jpg, Pillbox 108 File:Kiur dot133.jpg, Pillbox 133 File:Dot178 kiur.JPG, Pillbox 178 File:ДОТ номер 178 Киевский укрепрайон.jpg, Pillbox 178. The number «179» was mistakenly added in the postwar period. File:Kiur dot204.jpg, Pillbox 204 File:Dot 205 kiur.jpg, Pillbox 205 File:ДОТ №179 (с. Вита-Почтовая, Киевский укрепрайон).jpg, Pillbox 211 File:Kyiv Pillbox 408.jpg, Pillbox 408 File:Kyiv Pillbox 413 1.jpg, Pillbox 413 File:Kyiv Pillbox 416.jpg, Pillbox 416 File:Kyiv Pillbox 417.jpg, Pillbox 417 File:Kyiv Pillbox 418.jpg, Pillbox 418 File:Kyiv Pillbox 419 2.jpg, Pillbox 419 File:Kyiv Pillbox 426 1.jpg, Pillbox 426 File:Kyiv Pillbox 427 1.jpg, Pillbox 427 File:Irpin Pillbox 428 1.jpg, Pillbox 428 File:Irpin Pillbox 429 2.jpg, Pillbox 429 File:ДОТ 453.JPG, Pillbox 453 File:ДОТ 456.JPG, Pillbox 456 File:Kyiv Pillbox 457 2.jpg, Pillbox 457 File:Kyiv Pillbox 458.jpg, Pillbox 458 File:Kyiv Pillbox 478.jpg, Pillbox 478 File:ДОТ 480.JPG, Pillbox 480 File:ДОТ 481 1.jpg, Pillbox 481 File:ДОТ 484.JPG, Pillbox 484

References

{{coord missing, Ukraine Fortifications in Ukraine Military history of Ukraine World War II defensive lines Fortified regions of the Soviet Union