Maliar: Bakhmut has already become one of most expensive operations for Russia

"For them, first of all, this is probably one of the most expensive operations because a large amount of equipment and weapons have already been wasted on it, and, by the way, they were largely destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They suffer huge losses there. And these losses are several times higher than our losses. This is war and we have to be realistic. Unfortunately, this is the price of our independence," Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar said during the national news telethon.

According to her, the planning of our command there allows ensuring that Ukraine's losses are minimal in view of what they could be in such heavy battles.

As for Bakhmut, the deputy minister emphasized, the enemy has thrown all its forces to take control of the city. "But they throw weapons and equipment there. It is very important for them. It seems that this is not even only from a military point of view, but also from a political point of view because they threw all their propaganda at Bakhmut. And, accordingly, in order to restrain them, we must also concentrate a large amount of effort there. Indeed, since they cannot fight with us in street battles because they will lose, they have resorted to their proven Syrian tactics and are effectively wiping buildings off the face of the earth. In such a situation, it is very difficult to hold positions. In fact, it is impossible to hold them in such a situation. Indeed, there is a slight advance of the enemy in certain areas," Maliar said, noting that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been preventing the enemy from capturing Bakhmut for eight months already.

As reported, Russia launched 33 strikes on Donetsk region over the past day, hitting 14 settlements and damaging 58 civilian objects.