US says 20,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war since December

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The White House said Monday it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy-assault by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

RUSSIAN MISSILE BARRAGE RAINS DOWN ON KYIV AS UKRAINE PREPARES COUNTEROFFENSIVE

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense.

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  A dog walks near a building destroyed by shelling in Kutuzivka, near Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, Friday, May 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

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  ZAPORIZHZHIA, UKRAINE – MARCH 22: An inside view of the damaged building after Russian attacks in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on March 22, 2023. After the attack by Russian forces on 22 March, in which one person died and 34 were injured, the people are trying to continue their daily life. As a result of the attack, many buildings and infrastructure were severely damaged.  (Photo by Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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  In this photo provided by the National Police of Ukraine, firefighters work to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack at an apartments’ buildings area in the town of Uman, 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, April 28, 2023. (National Police of Ukraine via AP)

SPEAKER MCCARTHY BLASTS RUSSIAN REPORTER IN ISRAEL, REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence. He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.

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Troops from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the “road of life” — the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops. Both sides have cited gains in recent days.