According to NATO intelligence reports, Russia has lost five times more troops than Ukraine in clashes for the besieged city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, CNN reports citing an unnamed NATO representative.
According to the representative, Ukraine’s casualties incurred while defending the city were “significant”.
Kyiv has repeatedly said that its forces are inflicting huge losses on Russia as Moscow is attempting to capture Bakhmut, CNN writes.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, it is premature to assess the Ukrainian army’s intentions of leaving Bakhmut, an almost abandoned city which has been an epicentre of intense fighting in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian forces are likely to be engaged in a “limited tactical withdrawal” from the city’s eastern part.
According to the ISW experts, Ukraine continues to suffer high but not excessive losses against the advancing mixed Russian troops. At the same time, Kyiv’s resolute determination to defend Bakhmut remains strategically sound because it depletes Russia’s manpower and military equipment, the ISW noted.
According to the ISW, the Russian offensive is likely to come to a halt irrespective of the future of Bakhmut. The advance will stall due to significant losses near Vuhledar, Donetsk region. Moreover, Russia’s “major offensives in the Kupyansk, Svatove, and Kreminna directions” are “failing to generate any significant successes on the frontlines”.
Earlier, spokesperson for the Ukrainian army’s east group of forces Serhiy Cherevaty told national TV that Ukrainian troops were still in Bakhmut to defend the city.
“We can deliver ammo, food, and medicine there as well as recover injured service members from there. Yes, the Bakhmut-Kostiantynivka highway is not the safest. However, our units ensure that Bakhmut can get everything they need,” he said.
