20,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war since December, US claims

Russians have suffered 100,000 casualties, of which at least 20,000 are killed since a war of attrition intensified in Ukraine’s Donetsk region in December, according to an estimate by the White House, as Kyiv readies for a new counteroffensive against Moscow’s forces.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Monday said the figure was based on newly declassified United States intelligence. He did not detail how the intelligence community arrived at the number.

He added that about half of those killed were soldiers recruited by the private Wagner Group of mercenaries, which draws many of its recruits from prison populations in Russia.

The fiercest battles in the eastern province have been around the city of Bakhmut, where Wagner and other forces are fighting Ukrainian forces house-to-house to try to gain control of the last remaining road west that is still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops.

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

He added that Russia had been “unable to seize any strategically significant territory” despite its military efforts.

“Russia has exhausted its military stockpiles and its armed forces,” Kirby said.

The spokesperson said the White House was not giving estimates of Ukrainian casualties because “they are the victims here. Russia is the aggressor.”

The head of Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Russia continued to exert “maximum effort” to take Bakhmut but that it so far had failed.

“In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions,” he said.