Photos show miles of Russia's infamous 'dragon's teeth' defenses that are holding up Ukrainian forces

• New photos and video show Russia's fierce "dragon's teeth" anti-tank defenses along the front line.
• The four-foot concrete pyramids stretch across Russia's 600-mile defensive front.

New photos and video show miles of Russia's notorious "dragon's teeth" anti-tank defenses erected along the front line, illustrating Ukraine's long road ahead amid its slogging counter offensive.

Ukraine's Security Service shared photos of the Russian fortifications exclusively with CNN this month, offering stark insight into the network of defenses that has thus far curtailed Ukraine's ambitions.

The images offer a first look at the menacing white spikes which jut up from Ukrainian ground and stretch across Russia's 600-mile front. The concrete pyramids, which stand about four-feet tall, serve to block and damage Ukrainian tanks and other armored vehicles.

Dragon's teeth are just one part of Russia's massive defense line, which is also equipped with anti-tank ditches and trenches, as well as minefields to protect its positioning from Ukrainian forces on the offensive.

Ukraine has been battling Russia's vast defensive network since its counter offensive began in June. Russia had months to prepare its defenses ahead of Ukraine's counter offensive, and the country continues to expand its fortifications even now.

Last week, Ukrainian forces managed to push into the main Russian defensive line while moving south through the Zaporizhzhia region, where they now face layers of danger.

Ukraine is hoping to break through the Russian anti-vehicle defenses completely so it can use its tanks in battle. But the fearsome dragon's teeth often require skilled combat engineers to breach them, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. The United States sent Ukraine additional demolition munitions in June to help the country's combat engineers do battle against the dragon's teeth.

The Ukrainian military says its currently consolidating its positions along the front lines as it looks ahead to Russia's next row of defenses, CNN reported.

"We are not failing. We are moving forward. We have liberated dozens of square kilometers of our land through minefields with no air coverage," Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs, told the outlet.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that Ukraine had broken through Russia's first line of defenses in multiple places and had achieved "some success" against the second line of fortifications.

New video from the Robotyne-Verbove area where fighting is ongoing also offers a look at the dragon's teeth defenses. Ukraine recently reclaimed the village of Robotyne and its troops have been penetrating Russian lines between the village and Verbove since.

Emil Kastehelmi, a military analyst and expert, shared the frontline video on Twitter. The clip features the spiky dragon's teeth visible in the distance where the fortifications almost resemble a decidedly unfriendly white picket fence.

The video also shows two destroyed Russian tanks along a dirt road.