15,000 Russian troops 'neutralized' in Pokrovsk direction in January alone, Syrskyi says
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Some 15,000 Russian soldiers were "neutralized" by Ukrainian forces in the Pokrovsk direction in Donetsk Oblast during January, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Feb. 2.
In a post on Facebook that included a video of combat footage, Syrskyi said the area "remains one of the hottest" on the front, adding Ukrainian forces were "continuously inflicting losses on the occupiers."
"In January of this year alone, our soldiers neutralized more than 15,000 invaders here, of which about 7,000 were killed," he added.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the figures.
A report from the monitoring group DeepState, published on Jan. 28 said that overall across the front lines, the intensity of Russian assaults was declining, but remains high.
It added that Russian forces have concentrated 44% of their attacks in the Pokrovsk sector, a crucial logistics hub for Ukrainian troops in Donetsk Oblast.
Russian forces were deploying small groups in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops in the sector, Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, said on Jan. 27.
The peak intensity of Russian offensive efforts across the front lines was recorded in the second half of December, following a surge in attacks that began in late November.
According to data published by Ukraine's Armed Forces, 840,260 of Moscow's troops have been injured or killed since 2022.
Russian losses in Ukraine are helping fuel a demographic timebomb that could see the country’s population reduced by half by the end of the century, experts told the Kyiv Independent earlier this month..
"The impact on Russian society is devastating," said Harley Balzer, emeritus professor of government and international affairs at Georgetown University.
"From Russia's perspective, (winning the war in Ukraine) is the smaller problem. The bigger issue is, is it going to be a viable country afterward regardless?"
