Wagner Group suffers heavy losses in Bakhmut, threatening their role.

Russia's Wagner mercenary group has likely lost tens of thousands of its fighters, possibly up to half of its 50,000-strong force, during months of battles to capture the key Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The Institute for the Study of War think tank reported that the Wagner Group has likely lost a "substantial" amount of manpower, which is expected to hobble Moscow's offensive in the eastern region. The mercenaries have spent months trying to capture Bakhmut, where fighting has been so fierce that it has come to be known as a "meat grinder."