Ukraine war: More than 20,000 Russian fighters dead in Bakhmut, US says

The White House believes that more than 20,000 Russian combatants have died in the battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in the last five months.

A further 80,000 have been wounded, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, citing newly declassified intelligence.

Half of the dead are from the Wagner private mercenary company, the US says.

If accurate, the number of Russian casualties outweighs the eastern city's pre-war population of about 70,000.

Moscow has been trying to take Bakhmut since last year in a grinding war of attrition. read more