Czech hedgehogs are Ukraine's new defence against Russia; What are they?

At a time when Russia has been escalating its grave military operations in Ukraine leading to the death of hundreds of people while many have been displaced as civilians are migrating to other countries to save their lives, many brave Ukrainians are also coming forward to fight against to display their resistance against the Russian troops by the use of different means. 

While many have been carrying out protests and are sloganeering against the Russian forces, reports also suggest that many people are making use of their own ways to block the invasion. Local welders and people across Ukraine are using anti-tank barriers named Czech hedgehogs to stop the Russian tanks from entering their cities. The new idea developed by a group of people across Ukrainian cities have also taken over social media where locals have shared their videos and further urged others to follow the same measures for restricting the troops. 

Notably, as troops are have been preparing to invade Ukrainian cities on the outskirts, villagers as a bid to oppose them have taken down the road signs to confuse the troops and further scattered iron anti-tank barriers known as Czech hedgehogs everywhere. Read on to know in detail about the hedgehogs that are being used by the local people in Ukraine for blocking Russian troops into their regions. 

What are Czech hedgehogs?

As evident from the pictures, Czech hedgehogs can be seen as anti-tank obstacle defence equipment made from metal angle beams or I-beams. The hedgehog is said to be very effective in keeping light to medium tanks and vehicles from entering a line of defence and further maintains its function even when tipped off by any nearby explosion. This is especially effective in urban combat as they can easily block an entire street. 

Well, this is not the first time when the hedgehogs have been used in such a war-like situation. Earlier, it was used during the second world war by the Soviet Union in anti-tank defence.

Ever since Russia declared war on Ukraine, a wave of protests has taken over the entire country and other parts of the world as well. Many are condemning President Putin's unjustified invasion of Ukraine which has affected thousands of people. 

Image: Shutterstock