Russia Strikes Key Kyiv Bridge and Escalates Attacks on Ukraine Infrastructure

Russia struck a key bridge in Kyiv connecting the left and right bank of the Dnipro river overnight Saturday, as Moscow steps up its aerial campaign against Ukraine.

Traffic was suspended on the capital’s Northern Bridge and emergency services were deployed to the scene amid damage to the road and trolleybus cables on the crossing, Kyiv major Vitaly Klitschko said on Saturday. Around 500,000 people commute from the Dnipro’s left bank to the river’s right bank daily, with eight bridges connecting the two sides in total.

That follows several similar attacks by drones on the Southern Bridge in Kyiv in recent days, forcing the temporary suspension of vehicle movement and huge traffic jams.

Russia’s defense ministry confirmed it had carried out the attack, stating the bridge was being used to transport military cargo. It also separately said it had struck the key Hostomel logistics hub and a cargo ship crossing the Black Sea near the southern port of Odessa.

Separately, the UN-linked International Atomic Energy Agency said four strikes in recent days had threatened safety and security” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, including reportedly disabling an off-site radiation monitoring station.

Moscow has stepped up its bombing campaign in recent weeks against Ukraine’s civil and critical infrastructure, targeting residential areas, energy facilities, sea terminals and data centers, setting the stage for a dire winter for Kyiv. In the past week alone, Russia has launched more than 190 missiles and drones, mostly targeting energy infrastructure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops to abandon the rules of war, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the FT this week.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is grappling with a yawning financial deficit and shortage of critical weapons. Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi this week said the country faces a $27 billion defense funding gap this year, with Kyiv hoping to cover about $7 billion domestically and looking to partners for the rest.