Egypt requested the meeting to be held at the level of permanent representatives, according to the statement.

On Sunday, the fourth day of Russian invasion witnessed street fighting in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, which marks a new phase of the invasion following a wave of attacks on airfields and fuel facilities elsewhere in the country.

The conflict has claimed the lives of 198 Ukrainians since Thursday, according to the Ukrainian health ministry, and caused tens of thousands of residents to flee from the country.

"Egypt is following with deep concern the successive developments regarding the situation in Ukraine, and affirms the importance of upholding dialogue and diplomatic solutions, as well as endeavours that would hasten the political settlement of the crisis," the ministry said in a statement released on Thursday.

Such a desired political settlement, the statement said, would preserve international security and stability, and ensure that the situation does not escalate or deteriorate.

A settlement would also help avoid aggravating humanitarian and economic harm to the region and the world, the ministry noted.

Since Thursday, the ministry has been following the latest developments to the Egyptian community currently in Ukraine, where around 6,000 Egyptian nationals lived prior to the invasion, with students representing a majority, according to officials.

In remarks to media on Saturday, Minister of Emigration Nabila Makram said around 3,000 Egyptian students are in Ukraine, noting that she has held three virtual conversations with the students stranded in the country.

Small groups of Egyptians in Ukraine have already arrived back home, while around 1,000 more are on their way to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, Makram added.

Over the past few days, Egyptian embassies have urged citizens in western parts of Ukraine to head to the border crossings with Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, which lie west of Ukraine, to return back to Egypt through these countries.

The embassy, however, advised citizens in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv or eastern cities to stay at home or in shelters, adding that negotiations are underway to secure a safe exit for them.