image source,AFP via Getty Images
A Ukrainian soldier opened fire on Russian positions outside Bakhmut in November.
Over the past five months, more than 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in fighting in Bakhmut, Ukraine, the White House said.
Another 80,000 people were injured, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, citing newly declassified intelligence.
The U.S. said half of the dead were from Wagner’s private mercenary company. The army has been fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Russia has been trying to capture Bakhmut since last year in a bitter war of attrition.
Russia currently controls most of the city, but Ukraine still controls some parts of the city’s west. For both sides, the battle has huge symbolic value.
Ukraine says they are using the battle to deplete as many Russian troops and their reserves as possible.
“Russia’s attempt to launch an offensive in the Donbass through Bakhmut failed,” Kirby told reporters. “Russia has been unable to capture any truly strategically important territory.”
“We estimate Russian casualties to be over 100,000, with more than 20,000 of them killed in action,” he said.
U.S. statistics come from data from early December last year.
“Ultimately, after months of fighting and huge losses, Russia’s attempted offensive backfired,” Kirby said.
He also said he would not estimate Ukrainian casualties because “they are the victims here and Russia is the aggressor”.
The BBC could not independently verify the figure, and Moscow has not commented.
Capturing Bakhmut would bring Russia closer to its goal of controlling the entire Donetsk region. The Donetsk region was one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine annexed by Russia following a referendum last September that was widely condemned by countries outside Russia as a hoax.
Analysts say Bakhmut has little strategic value but has become a focal point for Russian commanders, who have struggled to convey any positive message to the Kremlin.
The Wagner mercenary group, which has become notorious for its often inhumane methods, has taken center stage in Russia’s attack on Bachmut.
Wagnerian leader Yevgeny Prigozhin staked the reputation of himself and his personal army on taking the city.
image source,AFP via Getty Images
A local resident of Bachmut pushes a bicycle on the street in January.
But he recently threatened to withdraw troops from Bakhmut.
In a rare in-depth interview with a prominent Russian war blog, he said he would let Wagner fighters withdraw if the Russian Ministry of Defense did not provide Wagner with much-needed ammunition.
He warned that Wagner’s fighters could be redeployed to Mali.
During the war, he often clashed with the Russian Ministry of Defense, accusing officials of not providing enough support for his fighters.
Prigozin also called on Russian media and military leadership to “stop lying to the Russian people” ahead of Ukraine’s expected spring counteroffensive.
“We need to stop lying to the Russian people and stop telling them everything is fine,” he said.
He praised the “good, correct military conduct” and command of the Ukrainian army.
Counterattacks have pushed Russian troops out of some positions in Bakhmut, but the situation remains difficult, a senior Ukrainian general said on Monday.
General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, said on Telegram that despite heavy losses, new Russian forces, including paratroopers and fighter jets from Wagner, “continue to be thrown into battle”.
“But the enemy cannot control the city,” he said.