Ukraine Army Successfully Eliminates 980 Russian Soldiers In One Day; 18 Armored Vehicles Destroyed

Russia lost 980 personnel and 18 armored vehicles, including eight tanks, in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine between Tuesday and Wednesday, data provided by the Ukrainian military showed.

A total of 161,520 Russian personnel, 3,492 tanks and 6,799 armored fighting vehicles (AFV) have been reported lost by the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff since the war began more than a year ago, according to a casualty report released Wednesday.

In a report from the previous day, the Ukrainian military staff claimed Russia at the time had already lost 160,540 personnel, 3,484 tanks and 6,789 AFVs.

Russia's manpower and equipment losses in Ukraine have resulted in its forces' losing offensive potential, the Institute for the Study of War said in its most recent war assessment.

"The overall pace of Russian operations in Ukraine appears to have decreased compared to previous weeks," the American think tank wrote.

The number of daily Russian ground attacks has decreased from between 90 and 100 attacks per day to just between 20 and 29, Colonel Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Joint Press Center of the Tavriisk Defense Forces, said Wednesday.

Russia's offensive in Ukraine's partially occupied eastern province of Luhansk is "likely nearing culmination if it has not already culminated," according to the ISW.

Meanwhile, the offensive of the Russia-aligned Wagner Group paramilitary organization on the city of Bakhmut, located in the neighboring province of Donetsk, is believed to be nearing its end as well.

Bakhmut has turned into the focal point of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, and the Wagner Group has gained prominence for leading repeated assaults on the city.

However, "it seems that the Wagner offensive itself will not be sufficient to seize Bakhmut," the ISW claimed.

Russian forces may have been unable to "generate operationally significant offensive action" recently due to worsening artillery ammunition shortages over the past weeks, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense said in a Tuesday intelligence briefing.

The Ukrainian government has maintained its position to defend Bakhmut, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claiming the city's fall would provide Russian forces an "open road" to neighboring settlements such as Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.

However, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated earlier this month that Bakhmut's true worth was more symbolic than strategic.

"The fall of Bakhmut won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight," Austin told reporters while visiting Jordan on March 6.