An elite Russian brigade of 5,000 soldiers has been destroyed and reformed as many as 8 times after heavy losses, report says

• The same Russian brigade has been destroyed and reconstituted 8 times since the start of the war.
• The Russian 155th Naval Infantry Brigade suffered heavy losses in attempts to take Vuhledar.
• Russian failures in Vuhledar have sparked rare criticism from the country's military bloggers.

An elite Russian brigade has been destroyed and reformed as many as eight times since the start of the war, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, said in a report on Friday.