Russian army suffering casualties in Ukraine's Bakhmut: Ukrainian army

By Ali Cura and Ali Murat Alhas

KYIV, Ukraine/ANKARA (AA) - The Ukrainian General Staff on Thursday said the Russian army has suffered casualties in the direction of the Bakhmut city of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region as the war marks its 120th day.

The Ukrainian body said in a statement that the Russian side lost a total of 34,430 troops, along with 1,504 battle tanks, 3,632 armored vehicles, 756 artillery systems, 240 multiple-launch rocket systems, 99 air defense systems, and 2,548 private vehicles and tankers.

The statement also said Ukraine's army took down 216 warplanes, 183 helicopters, and 620 unmanned drones, and struck 14 vessels and towing systems.

According to the statement, the Russian army has advanced towards the eastern city of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region while facing casualties around Bakhmut.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu announced earlier on March 25 that the count of soldiers lost was 1,351.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Rezkinov confirmed on his Twitter account that the US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems arrived in Ukraine.

"Thank you to my American colleague and friend (US Secretary of Defense) Lloyd J. Austin III for these powerful tools!" he said. "Summer will be hot for Russian occupiers. And the last one for some of them."

Experts argue that the HIMARS system, capable of performing precision strikes on mid-range, might cause serious attrition for the Russian army and slow down its offensive.

More than 4,600 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24.

Around 15 million people have been forced to flee their homes, with more than 8 million moving to neighboring countries, according to UN data.​​​​​​​