Russia targets Ukraine with missiles, drones

Ukraine reported April 3, 2024, that Russia fired four drones into Ukraine overnight, but all four drones were destroyed by the Ukrainian air force. [AP Photo]

Ukraine said Wednesday that Russian forces attacked the country overnight with three guided missiles and four Shahed drones.

The Ukrainian air force reported destroying all four drones, with the intercepts taking place over the Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad and Cherkasy regions.

Andriy Raykovych, the regional governor in Kirovohrad, said there was a small fire as a result of the attack, but reported no injuries.

The air force said the missiles targeted the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine. There were no immediate reports of damage.

Off the battlefield, in Kyiv, Finland President Alexander Stubb and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 10-year security pact. The deal makes Finland the eighth NATO member this year to agree to long-term security and defense backing for Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders.

Stubb said Finland would also send $203 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including air defense systems and heavy-caliber ammunition. That sum took Finland's overall defense contribution to nearly $2.2 billion during the war.

"We are not giving this military support only for Ukraine to defend itself, we are giving this military support for Ukraine to win this war," Stubb said at a news conference with Zelenskyy.

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy signed a bill that will lower Ukraine's military mobilization age from 27 to 25 years.

The bill increases the number of civilians the Ukrainian army can mobilize in combat, something the military has been asking the government to do for months.

The bill comes as the country grapples with military losses more than two years after Russia invaded.

Zelenskyy signed the bill nearly a year after it was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament.