Russia reports mass Ukrainian drone interceptions overnight Some flights suspended

Russian air defence forces shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones in multiple regions on the night of October 7 to 8, the Defence Ministry has said.

Between 11:00 p.m. on October 7 and 7:00 a.m. on October 8, 28 fixed-wing drones were intercepted and destroyed over the Belgorod region, the ministry said in a statement.

According to the report, 11 drones were downed over the Voronezh region, six over Rostov, two each over Bryansk and Kursk, and one each over the Lipetsk, Tambov, Smolensk, and Nizhny Novgorod regions.

In Voronezh, drone attacks were repelled in two districts and two cities, Governor Alexander Gusev said, adding that there were no casualties. In the Rostov region, dry grass caught fire on the territory of an enterprise in the Salsk district, but the blaze was quickly extinguished.

The Bryansk authorities also confirmed the absence of casualties or damage on the ground. Other regional administrations have not yet commented on the attacks.

Amid these developments, the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) announced that airports in Nizhny Novgorod, Stavropol, and Volgograd temporarily restricted flights.

Similar restrictions were introduced at the Tambov airport from 10:50 p.m. on October 7, lasting six hours, due to the potential risk of further drone attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

By Khagan Isayev