Russia lost more troops near Bakhmut and Vuhledar than in first weeks of war

Mediazona reported the information, citing data collected from open sources together with the BBC Russian Service and volunteers.

According to this estimate, from January 5 to February 8, 2023, 2,504 people died in Ukraine, and in the first weeks of the invasion, from February 24 to March 30, 2022, 2,175 people died.

At the beginning of the invasion, Russia attacked in several directions, and in the first weeks of 2023, it mainly attacked Bakhmut and Vuhledar.

According to journalists' calculations, Russia suffered the most losses in the second week of the war, from March 3 to 9, 2022, when 599 people died. During the battles in Bakhmut and Vuhledar, Russian forces suffered comparative losses: from January 26 to February 1, 2023, 541 people died, and from February 2 to February 8, 559 people died.

According to Mediazona, the data for 2023 is incomplete, as many losses are reported with a delay. "Confirmed losses for January 2023 and for other months of this year will increase in the near future," the outlet notes.

From February 24, 2022, to June 12, 2023, according to journalists' estimates, 25,528 Russians who participated in the invasion of Ukraine were confirmed dead, but the real losses are much higher.

In December 2022, Russian troops launched a broad offensive on several fronts in Donbas, but failed in a number of them. In January 2023, Russian forces launched an offensive on Vuhledar, captured several nearby settlements, but withdrew in February with heavy losses.

Wagner PMC mercenaries, including former convicts recruited in Russian colonies to fight in the war in Ukraine, took part in the battle for Bakhmut. At the end of May 2023, the PMC fighters announced the capture of Bakhmut and left the city, giving way to regular Russian army units.

The UK Ministry of Defense believes that more than 60,000 Russians have been killed or injured in Bakhmut since May 2022. According to the US, from December 2022 to May 2023, about 10,000 Wagner PMC mercenaries were killed in Bakhmut.

In mid-February, the Russian army had launched a large-scale offensive near Vuhledar, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces defeated a large column of its troops. After that, the attack stopped.

Information available regarding the "capture" of Bakhmut

On May 20, the leader of the Russian Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, released a video alleging complete occupation of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut by Russia.

On May 21, US President Joe Biden said that Russia has lost more than 100,000 people in the battle for Bakhmut. 

On May 23, the spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Serhiy Cherevatyi, said that Russia's daily losses in Bakhmut reach 200 people killed and wounded. 

On May 24, the founder of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that 20,000 Russian mercenaries were killed in the battle for Bakhmut.

On May 25, Prigozhin announced the beginning of the withdrawal of its units from Bakhmut.

According to Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar, as of the evening of May 31, the outskirts of Bakhmut in the southwestern part of the city remain under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also control the entrance to the city.

According to Maliar, Russia’s offensive activity in the Bakhmut direction has stopped, but Russian troops have increased the number of artillery attacks.

On the morning of June 1, Prigozhin posted a video in which he said that most of his fighters were leaving Bakhmut for the rear areas.