Zelenskyy lowers military mobilization age amid soldier shortage
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday signed a bill into law that will lower the military mobilization age from 27 to 25.
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 being invaded by Russia.
Zelenskyy signed the bill nearly a year after it was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament.
As the war continues, Ukraine has suffered not just a lack of soldiers, but also a lack of ammunition, worsened by delays in the U.S. and the European Union to provide promised aid.
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While Ukraine awaits aid, Russia has seen increasing successes on the battlefield.
However, Russian officials on Tuesday said Ukrainian drones attacked two industrial facilities in Russia's Tatarstan region, causing some injuries in what would be one of Ukraine's deepest drone attacks inside of Russian territory.
Tatarstan's leader, Rustam Minnikhanov, said the attack targeted facilities in Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk, 1,200 kilometers from the Ukraine-Russia border.
Ukraine did not immediately claim responsibility for the strike, though it has typically not commented on similar attacks.
Regional authorities said at least six people were injured in the attacks.
Ukraine's military said Tuesday its air defenses destroyed nine of the 10 attack drones that Russia deployed in overnight attacks.
The Ukrainian air force said the intercepts took place over the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Serhiy Lysak, regional governor in Dnipropetrovsk, said on Telegram that falling debris damaged two buildings, including a fire station. Lysak said no one was hurt.
Russia's military said Tuesday it shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod region, the latest intercept in the daily uncrewed aerial attacks by the two countries.
Several hours before the Belgorod attack, the Russian Defense Ministry reported destroying six Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea.
Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that he met with military and government officials to discuss the need to boost domestic production of drones to defend against Russia's invasion.
"Our defense industry must produce precisely what the war requires in the amount that is necessary and as timely as needed," Zelenskyy said. "Obviously, drones will be one of the decisive factors for victory in this war, and it should be a Ukrainian factor, Ukrainian drones, Ukrainian victory, which means we need more and more efficient Ukrainian drones."
Some information for this article came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
