Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed a decree to increase the size of the country's armed forces by 100,000 troops over three years and raise soldiers' salaries.
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Zelenskiy said it did not mean war with Russia was imminent and, in an address to parliament, he urged lawmakers to stay calm and united, not to sow panic and not to exploit a stand-off with Russia for political gain.
Although Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's borders, Zelenskiy has repeatedly pushed back against warnings by the US and other NATO allies that Russia could attack Ukraine at any moment.
He was speaking on Tuesday as he prepared to host the prime ministers of Britain, Poland and the Netherlands - all of them NATO member states - as part of efforts to defuse tensions with Russia and shore up international support for Kyiv.
"This decree (was prepared) not because we will soon have a war ... but so that soon and in the future there will be peace in Ukraine," Zelenskiy said.
There are currently nearly 250,000 people in Ukraine's armed forces, which are vastly outnumbered and outgunned by Russia's.
"We must be united in domestic politics. You can be in opposition to the government, but you can't be in opposition to Ukraine," Zelenskiy said.
"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."
The West last week formally rejected Russian demands to bar Ukraine from ever joining NATO and pull out NATO forces from eastern Europe, while expressing willingness to talk about arms control and confidence-building measures.
Russia has not yet signalled its next move, and the Kremlin reiterated on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin would respond "when he considers it necessary".
Putin said last week the United States and NATO had not addressed Moscow's main security demands but Russia was ready to keep talking.
On Tuesday he was due to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and hold a news conference.
NATO member states have rallied round Ukraine in recent weeks, with the US, Britain and Poland among countries offering military aid and calling for tough sanctions on Moscow if Russia launches an attack.
"We urge Russia to step back and engage in dialogue to find a diplomatic resolution and avoid further bloodshed," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in remarks released ahead of his arrival.
"As a friend and a democratic partner, the UK will continue to uphold Ukraine's sovereignty in the face of those who seek to destroy it."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was due to speak to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday for the first time since Washington formally replied to Russia's security proposals last week.
Australian Associated Press
