A law is being prepared to increase the size of the Ukrainian armed forces by 68,000 personnel to a total of 250,000, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Wednesday, Jan 21, according to Reuters.

Of this figure, 204,000 would be soldiers, he said at a government meeting.

Yatseniuk spoke after a surge in violence in Ukraine's eastern territories where government forces are fighting Russian-backed militias, including clashes on Tuesday which Kiev says followed attacks by Russian regular troops.