Wagner fighters suffer heavy losses in battles in eastern Ukraine - UK intelligence

Mercenary units of private military company Wagner suffered heavy losses in battles with Ukrainian defenders in the east of Ukraine.

The UK Ministry of Defense said this in its latest intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

“Russia has used private military company Wagner to reinforce front-line forces and to mitigate manning shortfalls and casualties. Wagner has almost certainly played a central role in recent fighting, including the capture of Popasna and Lysyschansk. This fighting has inflicted heavy casualties on the group,” the report reads.

The Ministry of Defense added that due to that, Russia’s Wagner Group is lowering recruitment standards, hiring convicts and formerly blacklisted individuals.

“Very limited training is made available to new recruits. This will highly likely impact on the future operational effectiveness of the group and will reduce its value as a prop to the regular Russian forces,” the report reads.

As reported, from February 24 to July 18, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 38,450 Russian troops in Ukraine, including 150 on July 17.

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