Zelenskyy Flies To Europe Amid Fresh Wave Of Strikes On Ukrainian Infrastructure (Videos)

Click to see the full-size image

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that on the night of December 8, the Russian side deployed 149 attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), of which, according to their data, 131 were intercepted or suppressed. The previous night, on December 7, it was claimed that 179 out of 246 launched UAVs were repelled, along with the interception of ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

Particular attention in recent days has been drawn to the city of Fastiv in the Kyiv region, which came under attack for the third consecutive night. Reports indicate significant damage to the railway station, which is believed to have disrupted the supply lines for Ukrainian forces on the right bank of the Dnipro River.

Local authorities announced plans to demolish the destroyed station building and construct a new one. Energy infrastructure also remained a target. The capital, Kyiv, was plunged into darkness due to the implementation of extended power outage schedules, causing discontent among residents.

Click to see the full-size image

Click to see the full-size image

Click to see the full-size image

Strikes were also carried out in other regions:

• Chernihiv region: A local thermal power plant was attacked, with the turbine hall hit. Damage was also reported in Novhorod-Siverskyi, where a police department was among the affected facilities.

• Kharkiv region: Targets included an industrial zone in Chuhuiv and facilities in the Pechenihy district, where a dam had been damaged the previous day. According to sources, this disabled a road leading to Kupiansk and Velykyi Burluk.

• Dnipropetrovsk region: A powerful explosion rocked the city of Dnipro. An administrative building was hit, which, according to available information, had long functioned as a combined military enlistment office, and where renovation work had begun several months ago.

• Other regions: Reports noted strikes in Kramatorsk (partial power outage), Okhtyrka in Sumy region (infrastructure damage), Zaporizhzhia (power supply disruptions), and Kremenchuk (fires at a thermal power plant and an oil refinery, leaving approximately 110,000 residents without heating).

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on the night of December 8, air defense systems intercepted 67 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over several regions. According to this data, the largest numbers of UAVs were destroyed over the Bryansk (24), Saratov (12), Rostov (11), and Volgograd (9) regions. Reports indicated air defense activity in Saratov and Engels; footage circulated on social media showing a suspected fire near an oil depot. In the Rostov region, a power transmission line was attacked, leading to electricity cuts in several villages of the Chertkovsky district. The day before, on December 7, a similar incident involving a strike on a power line left 250 residents of the Khutor Kolundaevsky settlement in the same region without power.

Amid this backdrop, discussions regarding the U.S. peace plan continue. Negotiations appear to have entered a critical phase: the Ukrainian delegation returned from the U.S. with draft peace agreements for detailed study by President Zelenskyy. Criticism from Donald Trump directed at the Ukrainian leader for the delay in reviewing the documents points to increasing pressure from Washington, which is seeking rapid progress. The complexity of the negotiations is further confirmed by Zelenskyy’s own assessment, describing the conversation with the American side as constructive but difficult—an indirect indication of irreconcilable differences, likely concerning territorial issues.

Furthermore, statements by Donald Trump Jr. about the potential for the U.S. to withdraw from the peace process add instability to the entire diplomatic picture. His remarks about American public fatigue with funding the conflict reflect the real political context in the States. Thus, the Ukrainian leadership finds itself in a situation requiring a delicate balancing act: on one hand, the necessity to conduct difficult negotiations under external pressure, and on the other, an attempt to secure the support of European allies during Zelenskyy’s visits to London and Brussels. The ongoing large-scale strikes on infrastructure create an additional backdrop of extreme vulnerability for Kyiv, which could be used as leverage at the negotiating table.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• Operation in Huliaipole: Russian Forces Clear Ukrainian Positions and Reach the Haichur River (Videos)
• The Zelensky Trap: A Chronicle of Ukraine’s Backroom Partition (November–December 2025)
• “Roads of Death” and Strikes on Logistics: Russian Forces Report New Successes in the Kupiansk Direction (Videos)