According to estimates from the West, Russia has lost more than 60,000 soldiers while attempting to take Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region.
Under the condition of anonymity, a Western official provided the details to reporters. The source stated, “We estimate that throughout the year-long battle, capturing Bakhmut has probably cost Russia at least 60,000 casualties in that Bakhmut-Popasna sector.”
He added that the figure of 60,000, which included both injured and dead, was a “conservative estimate” of Russian losses in this particular sector of the front. The official also stated that fatalities account for at least one-third of the estimated losses.
The source stated that the city was “not strategically significant” and that “Ukrainian elements have withdrawn from the main built-up area of the town,” according to the West.
Wagner [mercenary] forces are currently in the process of evacuating, at least temporarily. Russian regular forces, which are already overstretched, will make a major commitment to replacing these force elements, he added.
The Western establishment estimates that more than 200,000 Russians have died in the conflict with Ukraine.
