Russia lost about 100,000 victims

Lyubov Vasilyeva, 77, a local resident, stands among the remains of her home. Photo: Reuters

Russia is estimated to have suffered 100,000 deaths, including more than 20,000 killed since December, the White House said on Monday as Ukraine stubbornly defended the eastern town of Bakhmut.

In this brutal war of attrition, the fiercest fighting has been in the eastern part of the Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US estimate is based on recently declassified data American intelligence. He did not elaborate on how the intelligence community got the number.

General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in November that Russia had lost over 100,000 killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war. New data suggests that Russian casualties have accelerated sharply in recent months.

'The situation is quite complex'

Ukraine also said on Monday that successful counterattacks had driven Russian forces from some positions into the besieged city , but the situation remains "difficult".

"The situation is quite difficult" Colonel-General Alexander Syrsky, Commander of the Ground Forces, said on Telegram.

"At the same time, in certain sections of the city, the enemy counterattacked our units and left some positions.

According to the military, Syrsky made this statement while visiting frontline troops on Sunday.

Ukrainian soldiers ride in a military truck near the front-line town of Bakhmut Photo: DIMITAR DILKOFF City of Pavlograd, Dnipropetrovsk region Photo: REUTERS

He added that new Russian units are «constantly thrown» into battle, including paratroopers and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group. despite heavy losses.

"But the enemy cannot take control of the city," Syrsky said.

Wagner and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house by house in an attempt to gain control of what has become known as the «Road of Life» — the last remaining road to the west that is still in Ukrainian hands, making it critical for supply and fresh troops. Both sides are celebrating recent successes.

Mr Kirby said nearly half of those killed since December are Wagner fighters, many of them convicts who have been released from prison to join Russia's fight. He said that the Wagner forces were «thrown into battle and without sufficient combat or combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organizational command and control.»

Gender. General Alexander Syrsky, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, said that Russia continues to make «maximum efforts» to take Bakhmut, but so far without success.

«In some parts of the city, the enemy was our units counterattacked and left some positions», he said.

Kirby declined to say how many Ukrainian servicemen were killed or wounded in the fighting. Milley said in November that Ukrainian casualties were also likely around 100,000.

The US State Department on Monday reported the death of an American citizen in Ukraine.

A late British filmmaker and volunteer Sunday reported that his friend, a 26-year-old former US Marine, was killed during the fighting outside of Bakhmut.

It is reported that Cooper Andrews served in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion.

At least 100 foreign volunteers have been killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces since the start of the Russian invasion.