Kiyv

Ukraine Health Minister Viktor Liashko said that a total of 198 Ukrainians have been killed, including three children till now since the Russia-Ukraine crisis escalated on Thursday.

Liashko, in a Facebook post, shared the number of casualties in the Russian military operation in Ukraine so far. Along with this, in the post, he also said that 1,115 Ukrainians have been wounded in three days of fighting. He said that from the total number of wounded, 33 were children, reported Times of Israel.

In the early hours on Thursday, Russia launched a special operation after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested assistance to defend themselves from ongoing attacks by the Ukrainian troops. Western countries have strongly condemned the Russian military operation and boosted the sanctions pressure on Moscow.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday discussed the sanctions, defence assistance, and an anti-war coalition with US President Joe Biden.

"Strengthening sanctions, concrete defence assistance and an anti-war coalition have just been discussed with @POTUS. Grateful for the strong support to Ukraine," Zelenskyy tweeted.

Furthermore, Biden on Friday said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will maintain its "open door" to those European states who share its values and who one day may seek to join the Alliance.