Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed an order boosting Ukraine's military by 100,000 troops over three years, with greater pay for servicemen, as European support for his standoff with Russia grows.
However, Zelenskiy encouraged legislators to maintain calmness to avoid disorder. He clarified that the move is not a preparation for an upcoming war, "but so that soon and in the future, there will be peace in Ukraine."
Russia has moved not less than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders and recently sent thousands of soldiers and military hardware to neighboring Belarus for its scheduled military exercises this month. Though, Moscow denies plotting an invasion of Ukraine.
Currently, Ukraine's army numbers are around 250,000, which is much lower in comparison with Russia's overall strength, around 900,000 troops.
Ukraine Got the Support of the West
However, according to Reuters, Ukraine has the support of European countries Poland and Britain in case Russia pursues military aggression.
During a visit to Kyiv, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki assured that Ukraine would receive supplies of weapons, bombs, air-defense systems, and humanitarian assistance from Warsaw.
On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was scheduled to meet with Zelenskiy later in the day, as part of the West's efforts to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to "find a diplomatic resolution and avoid further bloodshed." The US and Western countries disapproved of the demands of Moscow to reject Ukraine from ever becoming a member of NATO and to pull out the coalitions forces from eastern Europe. The Kremlin reiterated that Putin would respond "when he considers it necessary."
Despite the growing deployments of Russian troops around the Ukraine border, Zelenskiy has consistently opposed US and NATO allies' warnings that Russia may strike Ukraine at any time. He also warned those who take advantage of the ongoing crisis.
"You can despise ... the government, the president, but you can't despise your own people, sow panic in order to reap political gains, keep people in a state of alarm," Zelenskiy told Ukrainian lawmakers.
Russia Continues To Grow Its Forces
Meanwhile, the Pentagon alleged that Moscow has continued to grow its forces around its border with Ukraine, per CNN.
According to Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, additional Russian forces moved in around Belarus and the border with Ukraine over the weekend. He added that Russia was boosting its "naval activity in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic" by adding more ships and naval exercises to boost "capabilities they have at sea, should they need it."
In line with Pentagon's findings, Ukraine's military intelligence service reported last week that Moscow was deploying mercenaries, tanks, and mobile battery units and around 7,000 tonnes of fuel to the area.
Moreover, the US government earlier accused Moscow of sending operatives into eastern Ukraine, possibly to conduct a "false flag operation" that could give Russia a pretext for a military attack. But Kremlin had denied such allegations and provided military support to the separatists, as per Al Jazeera.
Yet, Russian politician Andy Turchak, a top official of the ruling party that supports the Kremlin, said last week that weapons should be dispatched to assist the two regions "deter a military aggression, "clearly being prepared by Kyiv."