Ukrainian Line
Ukraine
Ukrainian Line in 1737
Site information
Type	Defensive line
Controlled by	Novorossiysk Governorate of theRussian Empire
Site history
Built	1731–1764
In use	1731–1770th
Materials	Natural features, moats, earthworks

Ukrainian defensive line was a Russian heavily fortified defensive line on the territory of modern Ukraine built between 1731–1764 on the lands of theZaporozhian Sich and theCossack Hetmanate. Built by imperial Russia, it strengthened the defense of the southern borders fromTatar incursions^[1] and established military bases in approximation to theCrimea. 285 kilometers in length, it comprised 16 newly-constructed forts and 4 old forts repaired. The first stage was built from 1731–40 and subsequent construction began in the 1740s.

Since the late 1720s, theRussian Empire began to actively prepare for war with theOttoman Empire for the return ofAzov and Northern Azov Sea Region. The Ukrainian line was built to prevent theTatar incursion into the Poltava territory of the Hetmanate and the Kharkov territory of Sloboda Ukraine.^[2] The line proved to be of limited success given the distance between the fortresses and that the Crimean Tatars excelled in asymmetrical warfare, by raiding through gaps in the Russian defense lines.^[3] The bulk of the work on the construction was done byUkrainian Cossacks andpeasants in 1731–1732. Every year 20 thousand Cossacks and 10 thousand peasants ofHetmanate worked on the line, who were obliged to work with their inventory and supplies, every 10th with an ox and the Cossacks with their weapons. Thousands ofUkrainians lost their lives in the construction of the line^{[citation needed]}. After signing theTreaty of Belgrade in 1739 and the transfer of the Russian-Turkish border from the territory between theSamara andOril rivers on theAzov Sea, work on the line was terminated, and with the construction of theDnieper line in 1770–1783, the Ukrainian line lost its military defensive value.

The line ran from theOril river to theSiverskyi Donets River. The Ukrainian line consisted of 16forts and 49redoubts.

For defense there were 20 regiments ofland militia, (14cavalryregiments, and sixinfantry regiments) with about 22 000; it had 180artillery guns and 39mortars. In 1740 there were 18 forts and 140 redoubts.Bilevska castle was the center of the line. Until 1764, a land militia office was located there.

• 1730s in Ukraine
• 1760s in Ukraine
• 1764 in the Russian Empire
• Forts in Ukraine
• History of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
• History of Kharkiv Oblast
• History of Poltava Oblast
• Military of the Russian Empire
• 18th century in the Cossack Hetmanate
• Archaeological sites in Ukraine
• 1731 establishments in the Russian Empire
• 1764 establishments in the Russian Empire

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