Thousands of Russian troops have already died in the continued battle of Bakhmut, according to a Ukrainian close to the action. Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, said Monday on his Telegram page that the city under the Ukrainian flag has become a new military home for Russian paratroopers who were transferred from Kherson and are now fighting in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Mobilized troops who trained for two months in the Russian Federation "can only slightly halt the offensive of the [Ukraine] Armed Forces," he added, saying "they will not change the general picture." "It is...