Zelensky: Over 1100 Russians Killed in Less Than a Week in Bakhmut

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that more than 1,100 Russian soldiers have been killed in less than a week during battles near the city of Bakhmut, which is currently a focal point of the fighting in eastern Ukraine. In his nightly video address, he stated, "In less than a week, starting from March 6, we managed to kill more than 1,100 enemy soldiers in the Bakhmut sector alone." He added that "1,500 Russian soldiers were also seriously wounded enough to be sidelined from any further operations, and dozens of enemy equipment pieces and more than ten Russian ammunition depots have been destroyed." Ukraine insists that its forces are repelling relentless Russian attacks in Bakhmut, despite peculiar claims that Moscow has taken control of most of the besieged eastern city. The gradual Russian advance and the high number of Ukrainian casualties have sparked discussions about a possible withdrawal from Bakhmut in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which has been devastated by months of fighting. However, Ukrainian officials claim that Russian losses in Bakhmut are worse than their own and indicated they will pursue a strategy of exhausting the Russian army before a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive in the spring. On Sunday, the Russian defense ministry reported that its forces continue to carry out military operations in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, claiming that they killed over 220 Ukrainian soldiers in the past 24 hours. The ministry stated, "In the Donetsk area... more than 220 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, and one infantry fighting vehicle, three armored combat vehicles, seven vehicles, and a D-30 howitzer were destroyed during the day." Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses on the other, and verifying the figures announced by each side is difficult.