Moscow, August 12 (QNA) - The Russian forces made a breakthrough in several Ukrainian territories, bolstering their position on the battlefield, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement added that over 200 Ukrainian troops had been killed in a number of battles that raged between the two sides in recent hours, affirming that the Russian troops had taken control of the town of Vodyane in Kharkiv Oblast.
The statement further emphasized that the Russian forces had inflicted heavy losses in personnel and equipment on an assault brigade, three air assault brigades, three assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a naval infantry brigade near the settlements of Vasylkivka, Kolomytsi and Ivanivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and Shyrokyi, Mirovka, Rybalskyi and Volniansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Ukrainian forces deployed in the sector suffered losses of 340 personnel, three armored combat vehicles and 17 other vehicles, the statement continued.
It explained that almost 30 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, while an armored combat vehicle, 25 vehicles, an artillery piece and three electronic warfare systems were destroyed in the Dnipro area.
The statement further noted that units of the Southern Group of Forces had taken up more heavily fortified positions and pushed back Ukrainian formations and brigades near the settlements of Mykolaivka, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Pershomarivka, Nykonorivka, Fedorivka and Nykolaipillia in Donetsk Oblast.
The Ukrainian military suffered losses of 195 personnel, three armored combat vehicles-including a US-made Stryker armored personnel carrier- and 21 other vehicles, it added.
The Ministry stated that the Russian forces had improved their positions near the settlements of Dobropillia, Krasnopodillia, Bilozerske, Anivka and Matiashivka in Donetsk Oblast, and Novopavlivka, Novomykolaivka and Petrivske in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
  Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights in Russia Maria Lvova-Belova said a child was killed and his sibling was critically injured in an attack carried out by Ukrainian troops on the city of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai, southern Russia.
Over the past several hours, Russia and Ukraine exchanged fire using one-way attack drones and conducted airstrikes, with both sides reporting casualties. (QNA)