A Russian soldier was either killed or wounded for every 48cm – 18.8 inches – advanced toward the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) claims.
Russia began its 29km – 18 mile – advance on Bakhmut in May 2022, losing up to 60,000 soldiers in the process – a figure that a “Western official” claims to be a “conservative estimate.”
Bakhmut fell to the Russian military in mid-May this year after witnessing the largest battle of the 21st century, with a total military deployment of around 120,000 troops.
The MoD also claims that the city is now home to just one percent of the “pre-war population of 70,000” people; and those who have remained in the city have “no access to power, water or heating.”
According to Reuters, both sides are still suffering “significant losses” around the devastated city as Ukrainian forces hold a small foothold in the area.
Ukrainian President Zelensky claimed on a trip to Washington D.C. in December 2022 that Bakhmut was the “fortress of our morale.”
In February 2022, Russia likely planned to complete the capture of the whole of the Donbas region within 10-14 days.
But in Bakhmut, for every 48cm gained, one of its soldiers has been killed or wounded.
Ukraine fights on.pic.twitter.com/6HZMIsi5Os
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 3, 2023
