Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko has described the situation in the Ukrainian capital as “very dramatic” after Russian attacks on an important bridge. “It is no longer possible to pretend that we can now live as we did in peacetime,” Klitschko wrote on the Telegram online service on Friday after the closure of the southern bridge over the Dnipro River led to chaos in his city. “The enemy is tearing Kyiv apart.”
Russian drones hit the supporting structures of the south bridge on Thursday. The bridge was temporarily closed. According to Klitschko, the bridge was hit again on Thursday evening and Friday morning. A bridge pillar, the roadway and a protective concrete barrier along the subway line were damaged. It was the first time since the start of the Ukraine war that an important bridge in Kiev was massively targeted.
The bridges in the Ukrainian capital are crucial for transport and logistics. Ukraine has feared attacks on its important bridges since the Russian war of aggression began more than four and a half years ago.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj accused Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin on the online service X of declaring last month that there were “no more rules”. Zelenskyj relied on intelligence information and people from Putin's environment. "The Russians couldn't occupy us. That's why they are now carrying out massive attacks and massive killings," he wrote.
The Kremlin initially did not comment on Zelensky's claim, which he had already made in an interview with the Financial Times. Speaking to the newspaper, Zelensky said the Russians were targeting "our bridges, our data centers, the Internet, kindergartens, schools, universities. Everything." The aim is to drive people out of the cities.
Reporters from the AFP news agency observed long queues of parked cars and buses on Kiev's main streets on Friday as many people sought alternative routes amid the closure of the southern bridge.
The South Bridge is one of eight bridges connecting the east and west of Kiev across the Dnipro. It was completely closed in both directions. The Paton Bridge, further north, was only passable in one direction, as Klitschko said. However, there were no reports of her being hit either. There were also restrictions on the metro bridge. AFP reporters also observed restrictions on a fourth bridge, the Darnytskyi Bridge.
There were significant traffic jams throughout Kiev, it was almost impossible to get from one side of the Dnipro to the other. “I've been traveling for three hours to get to work,” Tetyana Osypenko told AFP. The 49-year-old's bus was stuck in a traffic jam. "There is simply no way there. None at all. It is impossible to cross the bridges today," she reported.
Russia has increased its drone and missile attacks on Kyiv in recent months. Since then, sirens have been wailing almost around the clock, warning the city's approximately three million residents of air raids. The rail and road network is already damaged and attacks on gas stations and power plants are fueling fears of energy shortages in the coming winter.
Moscow is increasingly using new types of jet-powered drones in its attacks, which fly faster and are more difficult to intercept. Zelensky called for tougher sanctions against Moscow to prevent Russia from building these drones. Manufacturers are dependent on components from abroad, he wrote in online networks. "Any Russian drone could actually be stopped right on the assembly line. What is needed is the political will of these countries."
According to the Ukrainian army, Russia attacked Ukraine with more than 100 drones on Friday night. Most of them were rendered harmless. Rescue workers said one person was killed in an attack on a tall residential building in Kiev.
