MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/. Russian forces inflicted more than 23,000 casualties on Ukrainian troops during the liberation of Volchansk in the Kharkov Region, eliminating roughly 8,000 enemy personnel, a source in Russia’s defense circles told TASS.

"The enemy suffered heavy losses - over 23,000 troops, of which at least 8,000 dead. Over the 18 months of the battles, the Ukrainian army lost 46% of its battlegroup’s personnel. Its daily losses amounted to over 40 soldiers dead and wounded on average," the defense source said.

In Volchansk, the Ukrainian army involved 33 battalions reinforced with over 90 tanks, more than 320 armored vehicles, 37 multiple launch rocket systems and at least 50,000 personnel, including those from the Lyut integrated assault brigade, he specified.

On November 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a command center of the Joint Group of Forces where he listened to commanders’ reports, including reports on the liberation of Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Volchansk in the Kharkov Region.

Volchansk is a large community in the Kharkov Region, which was home to about 17,000 people as of early 2023. Kiev turned the town into a large fortified area with a ramified network of underground tunnels and a powerful defensive line along the Volchya River. The Ukrainian military used large industrial enterprises in Volchansk for its defenses, such as the Volchansk Aggregate Plant and Elevator. The liberation of Volchansk will help expand the security zone near the Russian border.