LUGANSK, February 8. /TASS/. Ukraine’s armed forces sustained some 200 losses near Svatovo and Kremennaya in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) in the past day, Andrey Marochko, a retired lieutenant colonel of the LPR People’s Militia, told TASS on Wednesday.

"According to intercepted reports, the enemy’s irretrievable losses amounted to some 200 servicemen in the area of Svatovo and Kremennaya the past 24 alone," he said.

Also, Russia’s intelligence became aware of losses sustained by Ukraine’s 14th, 92nd, 25th, 81st and 95th military brigades. "Up to 30 people are missing from the 103rd territorial defense brigade [of Ukrainian forces]," he added.

On Monday, Marochko told TASS that the Russian intelligence had detected desertions by Ukrainian soldiers near Kremennaya. According to him, barrage detachments made up of territorial defense battalions are not coping with fleeing servicemen.

At a Defense Ministry conference call on Tuesday, Russia’s defense chief Sergey Shoigu reported that Ukrainian forces lost over 6,500 troops in January 2023.