Ukraine War: More than 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since December, according to the US

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May 1, 2023

Updated 1 hour ago

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

photo caption,

A Ukrainian soldier shoots towards Russian positions outside Bakhmut in November

More than 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in action in Ukraine since December, according to US estimates.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, citing recently declassified intelligence, said another 80,000 people had been wounded.

And half of the dead are from the Wagner company of mercenaries attacking the eastern city of Bakhmut.

Russia has been trying to control the small city since last year in a fierce war of attrition.

Moscow currently controls most of Bakhmut, but Ukrainian forces still control a small part of the city in the west. The fierce battle acquired great symbolic significance for both sides.

Ukrainian officials have also said they are using the battle to kill as many Russian forces as possible and wear down their reserves.

Russia’s attempt to launch an offensive in Donbass [region] Kirby told reporters, “It has largely failed through Bakhmut. Russia has not been able to capture any real and significant strategic area.”

“We estimate that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 killed in the battles,” he added.

The death toll in Bakhmut has seen losses since the beginning of December, according to US figures.

“The bottom line is that Russia’s offensive attempt backfired after months of fighting and extraordinary losses,” Kirby said.

He added that he did not provide estimates on the loss of Ukrainian lives because “they are victims here. Russia is the aggressor.”

The BBC is unable to independently verify the figures provided and Moscow has not commented.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

photo caption,

A local resident pushes his bike on a street in Bakhmut in January

Capturing the city would bring Russia a little closer to its goal of controlling the entire Donetsk region, one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine annexed by Russia last September after referendums widely denounced outside Russia as sham.

Analysts say Bakhmut has little strategic value, but has become a focal point for Russian leaders, who have struggled to deliver any positive news to the Kremlin.

Wagner’s group of mercenaries – making extensive use of convicts and notorious for their often inhumane methods – took center stage in the Russian attack on Bakhmut.

Its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, bet his reputation and that of his private army on the capture of the city.

But he recently threatened to withdraw his forces from Bakhmut.

In a rare in-depth interview with a prominent Russian war blogger, he vowed to withdraw the Wagner fighters if they were not supplied with much-needed ammunition by the Russian Defense Ministry.

He warned of the possibility of redeployment of Wagner fighters in Mali.

He frequently clashed with the Russian Defense Ministry during the war, accusing officials of not providing his fighters with sufficient support.

Prigozhin also called on the Russian media and military leadership to “stop lying to the Russian population” ahead of the expected Ukrainian spring counteroffensive.

“We need to stop lying to the Russian people, telling them that everything is fine,” he said.

He praised the military operations and the good and correct leadership of the Ukrainian army.

A senior Ukrainian general said on Monday that counterattacks had knocked out Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut, but that the situation was still “difficult”.

General Oleksandr Sersky, the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, said on Telegram that fresh Russian units, including paratroopers and Wagner fighters, are “continually being thrown into battle” despite suffering heavy losses.

“But the enemy is unable to control the city,” he said.

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