Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, shared the information in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
"They have suffered huge losses. In each of the directions - Luhansk or Bakhmut - their losses range from several dozen to a hundred or more dead per day. In the Bakhmut direction, for example, at least 50 people are killed every day. This dynamic is not changing," he said.
Cherevatyi noted that due to significant losses, Russia had to mobilize and engage convicts in combat.
"All of this forced the enemy to mobilize to replenish its forces and involve the criminal organization Wagner PMC, which, after losing most of its professional mercenaries, organized a "penalty battalion 2.0" of World War II and began to recruit convicts. This was for the sole purpose of maintaining a constant degree of tension and using manpower as the main factor in maintaining the high dynamics of hostilities," he added.
On February 14, Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman Oleksandr Voitko said on Espreso TV that Russian troops would not be able to encircle Bakhmut.