Massive Drone Strikes Blaze Through Ukraine; Russia Captures Donetsk Oblast’s Pokrovsk – 12/7/2025, 12:25:12 PM

Here are some of the key world news stories as of early December 2025, based on major wires and live current‑events feeds[1][2][5]:

• Russia–Ukraine war
  • Russia has launched a massive drone and missile attack across Ukraine, striking infrastructure including a railway station in Fastiv and causing widespread damage and casualties.[1]
  • In the east, Russia claims to have captured Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast after months of heavy fighting, while an Iskander missile strike on Dnipro killed several people and injured dozens.[2]
• Middle East & Gaza
  • Israel says it will reopen the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, allowing some Palestinians to leave Gaza, amid ongoing blockade and airstrikes.[2]
  • Drone strikes near Khan Younis killed several Palestinians, including children, and the Israeli army reports new casualties from Hamas attacks around Rafah.[2]
  • Iran has conducted large missile launches in naval drills in the Sea of Oman and near the Strait of Hormuz, heightening regional tension.[1]
• Conflicts in Africa
  • In Sudan’s civil war, the Rapid Support Forces claim to have captured Babanusa, the last Sudanese army stronghold in West Kordofan, and a drone strike on a kindergarten in South Kordofan has killed dozens, including many children.[2]
  • In the DRC–Rwanda conflict, presidents Tshisekedi and Kagame have signed a peace agreement in Washington, D.C., brokered by the U.S. administration.[2]
  • In Haiti, gangs have launched a large-scale offensive in Ouest and Artibonite, displacing civilians, with police saying gangs now control about half of Artibonite.[2]
  • A mass shooting at a bar near Pretoria, South Africa left at least 12 people dead, including three children.[1]
• Asia–Pacific developments
  • A fire at a popular nightclub in India’s Goa state killed at least 25 people, including tourists.[1]
  • Japan has protested to China after a Chinese military aircraft allegedly locked fire‑control radar on Japanese jets, adding to already tense relations.[1]
  • Australia has imposed sanctions and travel bans on four Afghan officials over human‑rights violations and the Taliban’s treatment of women.[2]
  • Thailand has extradited Vietnamese activist Y Quynh Bđăp to Vietnam, drawing criticism from human‑rights groups.[2]
• Europe & international diplomacy
  • Canada has agreed to join the EU’s Security Action for Europe initiative, deepening defense‑industrial cooperation between Canada and the European Union.[2]
  • Hong Kong is holding a legislative election under Beijing’s overhauled system, shortly after the city’s deadliest fire in decades raised governance concerns.[1]
  • The Eurovision Song Contest faces a political crisis after several countries withdrew over Israel’s participation.[1]
• Americas
  • Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández has been released from a U.S. prison after a presidential pardon on his drug‑trafficking conviction.[2]
  • The U.S. Navy has carried out lethal strikes on a boat in the Pacific alleged to be carrying narcotics, killing four people, as part of an intensified “war on drugs” campaign.[2]
  • In Mexico, at least five people were killed and several injured when a vehicle exploded outside a police station in Michoacán.[2]
• Domestic security and politics in other states
  • Nigeria’s defence minister has resigned after the president declared a nationwide security emergency amid kidnappings and religious violence.[2]
  • Burkina Faso’s military‑led government is moving to restore the death penalty for treason, terrorism, and espionage.[1]
  • In Saint Lucia, early projections indicate the incumbent Saint Lucia Labour Party will retain a supermajority in parliamentary elections.[2]

If you want, I can narrow this down to a specific region (e.g., Europe, Middle East, Africa) or topic (wars, elections, human rights).