The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, announced this Tuesday, January 31, that he was signing a decree providing for the merging of an additional 100,000 troops in three years.

During his appearance before the Ukrainian Parliament, President Zelensky emphasized the need to strengthen the country’s defense capacity and said that the decree regulates the Army’s transition to a more professional structure.

“This decree provides for the professional development of military personnel, an increase in salaries and the incorporation of 100,000 soldiers into the Ukrainian Armed Forces in three years,” Zelensky said.

However, the country’s leader stated that the decree was “not for war, but for peace in Ukraine in a short time and in the future.”

In July 2021, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a law to increase the number of military and civilian personnel in the Army by 4.4% to reach 261,000 employees.

See also: US assures that Russia intends to increase its troops in Belarus

The United States, along with its European allies, ensured that Russia set the stage for an invasion of Ukraine, by stationing more than 100,000 troops on its border with the former Soviet republic and making significant artillery and tank deployments.

Moscow denies preparing for a military strike and says its troops are there for routine exercises.

Zelensky accepts Boris Johnson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Tuesday that a Russian attack on Ukraine would be a “political, humanitarian and military catastrophe.”

During a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky in Kiev, Johnson said intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a “military campaign in the near future.”

Johnson and Zelensky met in Kiev “to discuss Russia’s ongoing hostile activities, including military build-up.”

“We are seeing a large concentration of troops, we are seeing preparations for all kinds of operations consistent with an imminent military campaign,” the British prime minister said.

Johnson said Russia must understand the fact that Ukraine is “going to war” and that there are 200,000 people willing to put up “a very, very fierce fight.”

*Translated by Daniel Gallego.

The Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news offered to subscribers on the AA News Broadcast System (HAS), and is in summary form.