Moscow - Russian forces suffered their largest single-day death toll in the current campaign yesterday as up to 50 troops were killed in a fight for the key Chechen stronghold of Argun, a Russian news agency reported. Another 100 federal soldiers were wounded when troops stormed the heavily fortified village five kilometers east of Grozny.
Television reports said Russian and Chechen forces fought street by street as each side pressed for control of the tallest structure in the village - a grain elevator. A high-ranking defence source denied the high casualty report but conceded that losses in Argun "were incurred on both sides - a war is a war," Interfax reported.