Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine Says 137 Civilians, Soldiers Killed

Russia declared war on Ukraine on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 137 people have been killed and 316 people have been injured so far in the Russian invasion. Ukraine said it lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site. Ukraine has severed diplomatic relations with Russia after Moscow launched invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday. 

In a video address President Volodymyr, "Today we have lost 137 of our heroes, our citizens. Military and civilian." He further added that Ukraine left alone to fight Russia. On Thursday, he also signed a decree ordering a general mobilisation as his country faces a large-scale invasion by Russian troops.

There had been tensions between Russia and Ukraine for a long time and the situation became worse in early 2021. In January last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged US President Joe Biden to let Ukraine join NATO. This is not the first time tensions between Russia and Ukraine reached a high point. Russia had invaded Ukraine in 2014 and had seized some parts of eastern Ukraine. At that time, Russia had annexed Crimea.