Ukrainian troops killed more than 1,000 Russian soldiers in what could be the deadliest day of fighting since invading the country more than a year ago, Kiev’s army fell overnight.
In a video shared by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun claimed Ukrainian forces killed 1,090 Russian troops on Saturday. NY Post reports.
Shtupun also praised the elimination of eight Russian tanks, seven armored fighting vehicles and four artillery systems in the fighting.
The latest report on fatalities surpasses Kiev’s previous record of 1,030 Russian soldiers killed overnight on Feb. 7, just weeks before the war’s first anniversary on Feb. 24.
Ukrainian military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi also said on Sunday an additional 239 Russian soldiers were killed at the front near Bakhmut in Donetsk oblast. the Kiev independent reported.
On Friday, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar confirmed that the ongoing battle for Bakhmut was “exacerbated” as Russia continued its offensive even despite losses.
“Our soldiers are doing everything they can to prevent the enemy from realizing their plans,” Maliar wrote on Telegram.
The Russian offensive on Bakhmut, vital to the Ukrainian supply chain, and surrounding settlements has been underway since mid-January. Moscow first captured the city in May 2022.
Satellite images from Maxar Technologies shared earlier this week show the once thriving city reduced to rubble and clouded by ash.
As of this weekend, Ukrainian forces are reported to have holed up in buildings on the western side of the Bakhmutka River. The 8,000 m2 open area between the Ukrainian and Russian soldiers has been dubbed a “killing zone” as the battle continues.
Despite previous reports that Russian Wagner forces were making gains in the area, the Sunday report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) concluded that the troops did not advance on Saturday.
News of Russia’s heavy weekend losses came shortly after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s aide Mykhailo Podolyak, the Italian La Stampa newspaper on Ukraine’s strategy in the war-torn region.
“[Russia] has converged on Bakhmut with a large portion of its trained military personnel, the remnants of its professional army and the private companies,” Podolyak explained.
“We therefore have two aims: to push back their skilled personnel as much as possible and fix them in a few important, exhausting battles, disrupt their offensive and concentrate our resources elsewhere, for the counter-offensive in the spring.”
Another aide was more explicit, telling the BBC that the Bakhmut front was “a unique opportunity to kill a lot of Russians”.
A US official, speaking anonymously, estimated that as many as 30,000 people have been killed in the attack since the start of the war. Ukrainian officials also claimed on Tuesday that 4,000 residents were killed in the city.
This article originally appeared on NY Post and is reprinted with permission
Originally published as Russia ‘loses 1,090 soldiers’ in reported deadliest day of war
