Russia loses as many soldiers in Bakhmut direction as in both Chechen wars 

During the two months of fighting in the Bakhmut direction, the Russian army has already lost as many soldiers as in the two Chechen wars. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are still holding back the enemy

Colonel Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said this during an online Military Media Center briefing.

"The enemy is trying to break through in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Lyman directions. In the Bakhmut direction alone there were 199 shelling attempts and 35 armed combats. However, the enemy still fails to succeed thanks to our defense forces," he said.

"In the direction of Marinka, Vuhledar, Pavlivka, the enemy tried to conduct hostilities, with 28 assaults, 264 shelling attempts per day, with 141 soldiers dead and 165 wounded," added Cherevatyi.

It was noted that the enemy lost nearly a whole battalion with a large number of the wounded during the course of a day. 

"In terms of losses, these two months of attempting to break through our defenses equals their losses in the two Chechen wars combined," Cherevatyi emphasized.

  ▪ On January 25, according to the General Staff, Russia lost 780 soldiers, 2 planes and a helicopter.

  ▪ On January 25, the spokesman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andriy Kovaliov, said that the Bakhmut situation is under control, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not going to retreat from the city.

  ▪ Earlier the same day, Serhiy Cherevatyi, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reported on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Soledar, Donetsk region.