Russia's says downed 287 Ukrainian drones

MOSCOW

Russian forces shot down 287 Ukrainian drones overnight, one of the highest single-night totals of their conflict, and Moscow airports temporarily closed, the Defense Ministry and officials said Thursday.

Of the drones "intercepted and shot down" by Russian air defenses, 32 were headed towards Moscow, the ministry said in a statement posted on Telegram.

All four airports in the Russian capital were temporarily suspended, according to Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil aviation authority. St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Aiport said it was taking diverted flights.

In Ukraine, the head of the Poltava regional military administration said that Russia had attacked local energy facilities overnight, sparking fires.

In an interview last week, the CEO of Ukraine's state-run gas operator told AFP the country may be facing its toughest winter since the start of the Russian offensive in February 2022.

Naftogaz CEO Sergiy Koretsky said this year's strikes have been more intense and started earlier in the winter, compounding the impact.

According to an AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force statistics, Russia has launched record numbers of drones and missiles at Ukraine in recent months.

Ukraine and its allies have been pushing for a plan to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, with officials in Kiev on Dec. 10 telling AFP that an updated proposal was submitted to Washington.

As tension builds around a U.S. push for a settlement, the leaders of Germany, Britain and France spoke to Donald Trump by phone and requested a meeting this weekend with the U.S. and Ukraine, the U.S. president said.

“We’ll make a determination depending on what they come back with,” Trump told reporters at the White House.