MOSCOW/KYIV/LONDON ― Four people were killed and three others wounded in Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russia-controlled Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-appointed head of the region, said on Tuesday.

Pasechnik said four people, including three drivers, were killed in the attacks, adding that the attacks were interfering with restoration work.

According to local authorities, vehicles, residential buildings, an industrial zone and civilian infrastructure in nine municipalities also came under enemy attack over the past 24 hours, with falling drone debris causing fires in open areas.

Staff of the Investigative Committee of Russia were investigating the consequences of this Ukrainian military strike.

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Also on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian forces had seized the settlements of Chervonaya Krinitsa and Novopavlovka in the Zaporizhzhia region and intercepted 1,050 Ukrainian drones within 24 hours on the front line.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi announced Tuesday that the government mulled tightening budget spending amid high defense needs.

"The government is introducing a strict austerity regime for budget funds not allocated for defense needs," Koretskyi told the parliament.

The cabinet had identified 70 billion hryvnias (about $1.57 billion) in savings that would be fully redirected to defense, he said.

In June, the parliament amended the 2026 budget, increasing the security and defense spending to 4.4 trillion hryvnias, local media reported. 

EU pledges continued support for Ukraine

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) will increase its support to Ukraine and invest in its own defense, said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Wicklow, Ireland, on Tuesday.

"The EU continues to provide strong support to Ukraine through the Ukraine Support Loan," said Kallas at the press conference after the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Defense, adding that the EU has already disbursed 8.37 billion euros ($9.7 billion) in defense support for Ukraine and "with more to come."

On the future of the EU's Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine, Irish Minister for Defense Helen McEntee said Ireland would provide 10 million euros to the mission as part of a wider 125-million-euro package for Ukraine announced by Ireland in July.

Held in Wicklow on Monday and Tuesday, the informal meeting was part of Ireland's current presidency of the Council of the EU. The gathering brought together defense ministers for strategic discussions rather than formal decision-making.

The agenda included continued EU support for Ukraine, space and maritime security, and the situation in Lebanon.