New Delhi, Aug. 12 -- MOSCOW - Russian forces claimed control of the settlement of Vodyanoe in the Kharkov region on Wednesday as the Russian Defense Ministry published its daily battlefield accounting, reporting that more than 1,300 Ukrainian troops were eliminated across six separate battlegroups in the preceding 24 hours.

over 350 Ukrainian soldiers killed along with a tank, five armored combat vehicles, seven vehicles, and an artillery piece destroyed. The ministry listed additional losses attributed to other battlegroups separately. The Sever (North) group reported over 210 Ukrainian soldiers eliminated; Vostok (East) reported up to 340; Zapad (West) reported over 220; Yug (South) reported up to 195; and the Dnepr battlegroup report...