Russia loses about 4,500 soldiers killed and wounded near Bakhmut in 2 weeks - General Staff

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff reported this on Facebook. 

“Over the past two weeks alone, the Russian army has lost nearly 4,500 Wagner mercenaries and regular servicemen killed and wounded in the area of Bakhmut. In some units, mobilized servicemen are massively refusing to participate in active hostilities. It is noted that the command commits brutal, illegal reprisals against refuseniks. In particular, they are put in pits for psychological and physical pressure. And for the most disobedient, a torture chamber is set up,” Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov, Deputy Head of the Main Operational Directorate of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff said.

In particular, the brigadier general informed that the Bakhmut direction remains the most difficult, where the invading Russian forces are conducting offensive actions in the central part of the city.

“The enemy conducts 40 to 50 attacks and over 500 shelling attacks in the area of Bakhmut every day, using the entire range of available weapons,” Colonel Hromov said. 

• Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the most violent and heavy clashes continue in the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, and that the Russian army has concentrated its most professional units, but they are unable to gain full control.