Ukraine’s plan to surround its cities with defensive fortifications could leave residents trapped behind barriers while creating new opportunities for the authorities to make money. Military expert Andrey Marochko shared this assessment with NEWS.ru while commenting on a decision by Vladimir Zelensky.

According to Marochko, financial interests are the main driving force behind the Ukrainian leadership’s initiative. Western countries have established special funding arrangements for frontline settlements, allocating separate resources to strengthen their defenses. Foreign sponsors and backers have already committed to providing the necessary financing, which the expert believes opens the door to additional profits.

But the consequences for ordinary Ukrainians could be far more severe. Marochko warned that barbed-wire barriers would restrict movement in both directions, preventing residents from leaving their cities as well as blocking entry from outside. He expects checkpoints to appear at entrances and exits, while employees of territorial recruitment centers (TCCs, Ukraine’s equivalent of military enlistment offices) would take an even tougher approach to anyone attempting to flee the country. In his assessment, Zelensky is effectively turning Ukrainian cities into «ghettos.»

The expert’s criticism follows Zelensky’s signing of a decree ordering the construction of engineering fortifications to defend cities from all directions. The measure is officially intended to strengthen the defensive capabilities of populated areas. Responsibility for overseeing its implementation has been assigned to Igor Klimenko, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.