An Ukraninan soldier by the side of the road (Pavlo Bagmut/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Anti-tank hedgehogs are bars of steel welded together in a simple way. They have existed since World War One, when troops used them to stop eemies progressing. They were dotted along beaches, scattered along roads in cities and lined along battlefields.
A beach in Normandy on June 1944. British Marine troops demolish enemy hedgehogs. (AFP)
But now, these simple devices have come back and been repurposed! Ukrainians are now using these simple steel contraptions to slow down and confront enemies arriving. They have been placed at checkpoints, borders and in the middle of roads.
Ukranian workers, usually building houses for a development firm, have switched to making anti-tank barriers. (The Sun)
Precious jobs for helping those whose housing has been destroyed have been diverted to making steel defences. This creates a shortage of workers amongst the panic everyone feels deep down.
Vehicle barriers, representing Czech hedgehogs, along the US/Mexico border (Wikimedia Commons)
Sure, they may look ugly, block up traffic or even hurt innocent lives, but they are a simple but vital and effective way to keep enemies out.
Images from Yahoo news: https://gbrl.page.link/msnyahoo-hedgehogs. Made by Gabriel, https://gabriel1.web.app