80 drones in one night: how Russia lost an air attack, but hit cities again

Russia has once again decided to “talk” to Ukraine in the language of strike drones — and, as always, under cover of night. From the evening of the 9th until the morning of December 10, the sky over the country was buzzing with Shahed and other drones, the launch of which in Moscow is apparently considered strategic wisdom. The Air Force records 80 drones, of which 50 are shot down or suppressed by our defenders, but some still break through — with hits, debris, fires and further destruction where people were simply trying to survive until morning.

According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the night of December 10, the Russian army attacked Ukraine with 80 strike drones of several types, including Shahed and Gerbera, launched from various directions from the territory of the Russian Federation and occupied Crimea.^{2 3} By morning, Ukrainian air defenses were able to shoot down or suppress 50 enemy drones, but 29 hits were recorded in seven locations, where fires and damage to civilian infrastructure occurred.^{1 2 3}

Attack route: where did the drones fly from and where did they target?

The Air Force reports that the drones were launched from several directions: from the territory of the Bryansk, Oryol, and Kursk regions of the Russian Federation, as well as from the Primorsky-Akhtarsk region and occupied Crimea, where Shahed launchers are traditionally based.^{2 3} Such a "fan" scheme allows the Russians to simultaneously load air defenses in the north, east, and south, forcing Ukrainian calculations to distribute forces across several air directions.

The blow fell primarily on the southern and eastern regions, where the enemy is trying to exhaust not only anti-aircraft systems, but also the nervous system of local residents with continuous night alarms.^{1 2} According to Ukrainian regional media, some of the drones targeted industrial facilities and critical infrastructure, including warehouses, logistics hubs, and energy facilities, while another group targeted residential buildings, where debris and blast waves traditionally "do not distinguish" who their primary target was.^{1 3 6}

Air defense performance: 50 targets shot down and suppressed out of 80

The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units, unmanned aerial systems, and mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces - a standard but already well-tested set for combating a massive drone attack.^{1 2 3} As of 09:00, the military confirmed the shooting down or suppression of 50 enemy UAVs, mainly Shahed, Gerber and other types of drones, in the south and east of the country.^{1 2 3}

The wording "shot down/suppressed" means that some of the drones were destroyed by kinetic means (anti-aircraft missiles, small arms of mobile groups), and some were forced off course or crashed by electronic warfare when the drone lost contact with the operator or navigation.^{1 3 6} This is one of the few cases where Russia's bet on cheap "mopeds" plays against the Russian Federation itself: the more they launch low-intelligence drones with limited communication channels, the greater the chance that they can be damaged without spending expensive air defense missiles.

29 hits: where the "mopeds" didn't have time to finish off

Despite the effective work of air defense, the Air Force and Ukrainian media confirm 29 hits by strike UAVs in seven locations in the country - while publishing mostly generalized data so as not to help the enemy adjust subsequent attacks.^{1 2 3} It is known that some of the hits caused fires at industrial facilities, damaged warehouses, transport infrastructure, and civilian buildings, including residential buildings and small business facilities.^{1 2 6}

Regional officials are reporting casualties and destruction, but the exact number of victims is being clarified - traditionally, some information appears late due to the need to notify families and complete rescue operations.^{1 2} Against this background, the Air Force emphasizes that the attack continued into the morning, when several enemy UAVs remained in the air, so Ukrainians were asked not to ignore air alert signals, even if "it seems that everyone has already fired."^{1 2 7}

Trends in Russian attacks: the numbers change, the logic doesn't

The night of December 10 fits into a series of massive attacks that the Russian Federation has been carrying out in recent weeks, trying to simultaneously exhaust Ukrainian air defenses and put psychological pressure on the civilian population before winter.^{5 8} The day before, on the night of December 9, the Russians had already launched 110 drones from seven directions, of which Ukrainian air defense shot down 84 targets, but recorded 24 hits in nine locations - a rhythm at which enemy planners really want the country to simply get tired of counting sirens.⁵

Even earlier, Russia used combined strikes, combining drones with ballistic and cruise missiles: LB.ua, Ukrainian and international media recall attacks where over 200 UAVs and several missile salvos were launched in one night, trying to break through dense echeloned defenses.^{8 9} The trend is obvious: drones have become a universal tool for Russia – from “combat reconnaissance” of air defense to a direct weapon of terror against the energy sector and residential areas.

Kremlin goals: energy, logistics, psychology

Ukrainian and Western analysts agree: the strategic goals of Russia's drone attacks have changed little since 2022. First, it is the energy system: strikes on substations, thermal stations, and power transmission lines are designed to complicate the heating season, create local outages, and force Ukraine to spend resources on constant repairs rather than modernization.^{8 9} Secondly, logistics – railway hubs, fuel depots, industrial zones near important transport corridors that supply the front.^{6 9}

Third, pure psychological pressure: dozens of drones buzzing over cities at night, exhausting hours of anxiety, uncertainty about where the next “Shahed” will fly to – this is a way to make every night a lottery for Ukrainians, in which the main prize is simply to survive until morning.^{6 8} That is why the enemy is willing to strike at civilian targets even when they have no military significance – the very fact of chaos and fear is considered the result here.

Air defense effectiveness: there are successes, but the "ceiling" has not yet been reached

The fact that 50 out of 80 launched UAVs were shot down or suppressed is an indicator of the high efficiency of the Ukrainian air defense, which over three years of war has learned to work with massive swarms of drones in almost daily practice.^{2 3} A comparison with previous waves of attacks shows progress: in October 2025, similar massive raids managed to shoot down a smaller proportion of targets, but now mobile groups and electronic warfare are taking up an increasingly larger share of effective interceptions in the overall picture.^{5 8}

However, 29 hits are a reminder that there is no perfect "umbrella": a country with an area of ​​over 600 square kilometers cannot physically be covered equally tightly at every point, especially given the limited number of modern long- and medium-range systems.^{6 8} That is why the Ukrainian command continues to ask partners not only for additional Patriot, NASAMS, or IRIS-T complexes, but also for ammunition for them, as well as for expanding capabilities for the production of its own air defense systems and UAV interceptors.

International background: drones as a global challenge

The massive attacks on Ukraine have long illustrated a global problem: cheap strike drones, which can be produced in thousands or purchased from authoritarian partners, are destroying the old model of air defense, built around expensive missiles against expensive targets.^{8 9} Western think tanks and military experts directly write that Ukraine's experience forces us to rethink air defense doctrine - from the development of electronic warfare systems and interceptor drones to the creation of multi-level networks of cheap sensors and mobile fire groups.^{8 9}

For the Russian Federation, this "cheapness" is the main argument for continuing the attacks even in a situation where their strategic effect is decreasing: each downed Shahed still exhausts Ukrainian resources and forces the command to divert its attention, while the production capacities of Russia and its Iranian partners are slowly but surely increasing the volume of new batches of drones.^{8 9} That is why no one expects these attacks to stop quickly – rather, on the contrary, their further adaptation to Ukrainian countermeasures.

Ukrainian answer: adaptation, dispersion, recovery

Despite the daily nature of the threat, Ukraine is not playing passive defense. Since 2022, defense forces and energy companies have been actively dispersing critical infrastructure, building protection for substations, implementing backup power schemes, and maneuvering capacities to reduce the effect of even successful enemy strikes.^{8 9} As a result, the same 29 hits that could have meant massive blackouts in several regions in the first year of the war are now most often limited to local accidents with relatively quick recovery.

In parallel, Ukraine is continuing to develop its own strike capabilities, including long-range drones capable of striking military and industrial targets deep in the Russian rear – from oil depots to airbases from which the same “Shahed” take off that fly into Ukrainian cities at night.⁹ Each successful strike on Russian logistics and drone production bases is a contribution to ensuring that in the following nights over Ukraine there will be fewer targets that air defenses will have to intercept.

Sources

1. NSN: "Night air attack on December 10: one person killed, strike on infrastructure, air defense shot down/suppressed 50 UAVs"
2. ICTV Facts: "The Russian Federation attacked Ukraine at night with 80 drones: how the air defense worked"
3. Magnolia-TV: "In the evening and at night, the Defense Forces shot down and suppressed 50 enemy UAVs"
4. Mezha / other Ukrainian online publications: materials about the massive drone attack on December 10, 2025
5. Donbas news: report on the attack on December 9 – 110 UAVs, 84 targets shot down
6. Regional Ukrainian media: reports of hits and fires caused by drone attacks
7. Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: official Telegram messages about UAV types and air defense operations
8. LB.ua and other nationwide media: analytics on massive drone and missile attacks in the fall-winter of 2025
9. International media and think tanks: reviews of changes in Russian tactics in drone strikes on Ukraine