Ukraine Rebels Mobilize Troops Amid Russia Invasion Fears

February 19, 2022 12:20 pm

MOSCOW (AP) – Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine have ordered a full military mobilization while Western leaders made increasingly dire warnings that a Russia invasion of its neighbor appeared imminent. In new signs of fears that a war could start within days, Germany and Austria told their citizens to leave Ukraine. NATO’s liaison office in Kyiv said it was relocating staff to a city in the country’s west and to Brussels. Meanwhile, top Ukrainian military officials came under a shelling attack during a tour of the front in eastern Ukraine. With an estimated 150,000 Russian troops posted around Ukraine’s borders, Western officials say the long-simmering separatist conflict could provide the spark for a broader attack.