pyrrhic victory

A potential loss of Bakhmut only a few months after Russia captured the city in a Pyrrhic victory would demoralize what was left of their invasion force.

You may have won the war, but what are you left with? How much damage did you absorb? A pyrrhic victory is more costly than you imagine.

There’s no better feeling than being victorious after a long struggle of, say, battling. Not unless, of course, it’s a pyrrhic kind of victory.

Despite their defeat, the Greeks who fought in the Battle of Thermopylae set the foundation for the final victory achieved by their countrymen.