The occupying troops near Bakhmut lose a battalion a day. At the same time, the total number of enemy losses in the Bakhmut direction is up to 70 thousand killed and wounded.

 This was announced by Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on the sidelines of the Ukrainian-American Forum, the correspondent of RBC-Ukraine reports.

 "According to our estimates, the Russians lose a battalion a day near Bakhmut and continue to do so," said Reznikov.

 He emphasized that the defenders of Bakhmut do an important thing: they reduce the offensive potential of the Russians and thus prevent them from going on the offensive in other areas of the front line.

 "If you count, I think that up to 70,000 Russians have suffered losses in the Bakhmut direction alone, I mean killed and wounded together," the minister said.

 We will remind that the heavy fighting for the city of Bakhmut continues. According to the Ministry of Defense, the Ukrainian military continues to advance on the flanks under the city. In particular, the Defense Forces liberated about 20 square kilometers in the Bakhmut district.

 Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have already noted that the Ukrainian military intercepted the tactical initiative near Bakhmut, and the British Ministry of Defense also made a similar statement.

 However, it is not easy to liberate the territories, as the occupiers are trying to regain lost positions.

 The Ministry of Defense emphasizes that the Armed Forces are making progress in some parts of the Bakhmut direction, but the occupiers are advancing in Bakhmut itself.

 We will remind, as CNN calculated in March, Russia lost five times more soldiers than Ukraine in the battles for Bakhmut. It was reported that for every Ukrainian soldier who died while defending Bakhmut, the occupiers lost at least five people.

 It is worth noting that, according to US estimates published in February, only since December 2022, Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 dead, in eastern Ukraine, where the fiercest fighting is taking place around Bakhmut.