Ukraine mobilizes 100,000 troops amid conflict with Russia

KIEV, Feb. 28: Ukraine has mobilized about 100,000 troops amid the conflict with Russia, Valery Zaluzhny, chief commander of the armed forces of Ukraine, said Sunday on Facebook. About half of the mobilized forces belong to the Territorial Defense Forces of the armed forces of Ukraine, Zaluzhny said. Ukraine agreed to hold talks with Russia at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border near the Pripyat River, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday via social media. The agreement to hold the talks was reached during a phone call between Zelensky and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Earlier Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's deterrence forces to be placed on "a special mode of combat duty" in a meeting with top defense officials, accusing Western countries of imposing "illegitimate sanctions" against Russia's economy.