New Delhi: The Ukrainian government on Sunday (February 27, 2022) informed that as many as 352 Ukrainian civilians, including 14 children, have so far been killed during Russia's invasion. It said an additional 1,684 people, including 116 children, have sustained injuries.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry statement did not give any information on casualties among Ukraine's armed forces.
On the other hand, President Vladimir Putin-led Russia has claimed that its troops are targeting only Ukrainian military facilities and says that Ukraine's civilian population is not in danger. Russia has also not released any information on casualties among its troops.
The Russian Defence Ministry, however, acknowledged on Sunday that Russian soldiers have been killed and wounded, but didn't give any numbers.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has voted for the 193-member General Assembly to hold an emergency session on Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Monday.
The vote on Sunday to authorise an emergency meeting was 11 in favour, Russia opposed, and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. This, notably, was the exact same vote on a resolution on Friday demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops. But in that case, Russia used its veto and the resolution was defeated.
Earlier on Sunday, in a dramatic escalation of East-West tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin had ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert in response to what he called "aggressive statements" by leading NATO powers. Sunday's directive to put Russia's nuclear weapons in an increased state of readiness for launch raised fears that the crisis could boil over into nuclear warfare.
(With agency inputs)
