In the Ukraine conflict, neither side is willing to disclose how many people have died since the fighting started.
The US reported on Monday that over the past five months, roughly 20,000 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine.
According to John Kirby, the spokesperson for national security at the White House, 100,000 men have been killed or injured in the Bakhmut region and other parts of Ukraine since December.
Officials are silent about how many men they have lost, making it difficult to estimate the extent of losses on either side.
Moscow has not responded to the US assertion.
The Wagner mercenary force in Russia, which has recently been stocked with prisoners who were offered reduced or annulled sentences, accounts for more than half of the fatalities.
Since last year, they have been attacking Bakhmut, which analysts have compared to a meat grinder.
Officials from Ukraine have echoed this statement, claiming that they are using the fierce battle to eliminate as many Russian soldiers as they can and exhaust their war effort.
Ukraine, however, has probably also sustained sizable losses.
The majority of Bakhmut, which is located in the prized eastern Donbas region, is reportedly under Russian control, but Ukrainian forces are still holding on to a small portion of the city to the west.
The small salt mining city has acquired enormous symbolic significance for both sides, despite the fact that its strategic importance is up for debate.
In order to gain support from the West, Ukraine wants to demonstrate its ability to resist Russia, while Russia sees this as a necessary precondition.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner, has also staked his reputation on capturing the city.
White House spokesman Kirby stated on Monday that while Moscow had made some progress in Bakmut, it had done so at a “terrible, terrible cost” and their effort had “stalled.”
He declared that “Russia’s attempt at a winter offensive in the Donbas, primarily through Bakhmut, has failed.” “Russia has failed to occupy any significant strategic territory.”
According to the US official, Ukraine’s defenses are still solid. They are the victims here, he said, declining to estimate the number of casualties among Ukrainians.
He continued, “Russia is the aggressor.”
