Russia shoots down 67 Ukrainian drones overnight

Russia’s air defences destroyed 67 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the night of December 7 to 8, the Russian Defence Ministry announced.

The ministry detailed that 24 drones were downed over the Bryansk region, 12 over Saratov, 11 over Rostov, 9 over Volgograd, two each over Kursk, Leningrad, and Tula regions and Moscow region, and one each over Kaluga, Oryol, and Smolensk regions, Caliber.Az reports.

Late in the evening of December 7 and during the night of December 8, Russia's Federal Agency for Air Transport (Rosaviatsiya) restricted operations at the airports of Volgograd, Tambov, Penza, Saratov, Kaluga, Pskov, as well as the Moscow airports Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky. These measures have been lifted.

In parallel, Russian forces intensified offensive operations against Ukraine.

Over the past two days, Russian armed forces have carried out massive drone and missile strikes against Ukraine, launching more than 650 drones and over 50 missiles, targeting energy infrastructure and railway hubs and causing widespread blackouts.

The attacks damaged power stations supplying several regions and forced at least one of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants to cut output temporarily, raising fears of winter‑induced humanitarian consequences.

At the same time, diplomatic efforts involving Donald Trump’s administration and Ukrainian negotiators seem to gain momentum: a senior US envoy said a peace deal is “really close,” though core issues — control over the Donbas and the future of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — remain unresolved.

On December 8, residents of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy reported a drone strike on an apartment block that injured at least seven people, underscoring that civilian areas remain at risk despite ongoing peace talks.

By Jeyhun Aghazada