At least 24 people were killed, and more than 50 were injured when three Ukrainian drones struck a cafe and a hotel in the Kherson region, where people were celebrating the New Year.

The strike took place on Wednesday (December 31, 2025) night.

“Tonight, the enemy launched a targeted drone strike on a site where civilians were celebrating the New Year. Three UAVs struck a cafe and a hotel on the Black Sea coast in Khorly. According to preliminary reports, more than 50 people were injured, and 24 were killed. The numbers are being clarified,” Kherson governor Volodymyr Saldo was quoted as saying by Rossiya-24 channel.

In his Telegram post, Mr. Saldo said the reconnaissance drone strike occurred just before midnight.

Meanwhile, the air defence systems have intercepted and destroyed 168 Ukrainian UAVs over the regions during the New Year night, and many airports in south and central Russia were closed for hours due to the threat of drone strikes.

“During the past night, 168 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles were intercepted and destroyed by air defence systems on duty: 61 over the territory of the Bryansk Region,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement released on Thursday morning

“Twenty-five over the territory of the Krasnodar Region, 23 over the territory of the Tula Region, 16 over the territory of the Republic of Crimea; 12 over the Moscow Region, including nine UAVs flying towards capital Moscow; seven over the territory of the Kaluga Region, 24 UAVs were destroyed over the waters of the Sea of Azov,” it said.

An overnight drone attack by Ukraine temporarily disrupted power and heating supplies in the southwestern Russian city of Voronezh, a regional Governor said on Sunday (November 9, 2025).

The attack on Voronezh, the administrative centre of the wider Voronezh region, caused no injuries, Governor Alexander Gusev said on the Telegram messaging app.

Several drones were suppressed by electronic warfare systems, sparking a fire at a utility facility that was quickly extinguished, he added.

Safety measures led to brief changes in central heating temperatures in some homes and to short power cuts in parts of the city, but supplies later returned to normal, Mr. Gusev said.

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The Russian Defence Ministry did not mention any drones downed over the Voronezh region in its daily Telegram update on Sunday (November 9). The Ministry reports how many drones its units destroy, not how many Ukraine launches.

The Ministry said, “A total of 44 Ukrainian drones were destroyed or intercepted overnight, including 43 over the border region of Bryansk and one over the Rostov region in southern Russia. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone and missile strikes inside Russia, hitting oil refineries, depots and logistics hubs it says feed the Kremlin’s war machine.

Moscow calls the attacks terrorism, while Ukraine says they are legitimate acts of self-defence in the war. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.