Russian strike hits Kyiv bridges, 6 dead
Russian attacks in Ukraine killed at least six people and damaged Kyiv’s Northern Bridge, suspending traffic and causing tailbacks for a third day in Moscow’s latest effort to disrupt life in the Ukrainian Capital.
The strike came after two days of Russian assaults forced the full or partial closure of three of Kyiv’s six road bridges over the Dnipro River. Previously, Russia has hit apartment blocks, supermarket warehouses, gas stations and data centres, among other targets.
Russia invaded its neighbour more than four and a half years ago, and there are no concrete signs that a peace settlement might be possible. Fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometre (780-mile) front line snaking through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has been virtually deadlocked in recent months. Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the strike on the bridge damaged the road surface and trolleybus cables, forcing traffic to be suspended. There were no casualties reported.
Russia’s Defence Ministry on Saturday confirmed it was behind the latest attack, claiming the bridge is used to “facilitate troop movements and the logistics of military cargo deliveries” for Ukraine’s armed forces. Videos circulating on social media appeared to show the moment of impact as vehicles crossed the bridge, including footage purportedly recorded by a driver’s dashcam.
The aerial war has intensified, with Kyiv striking Russia’s oil industry and businesses while Moscow has menaced Ukrainian cities with hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said Saturday that the war is “dangerously reaching” her country, following a spate of airspace incursions. “I condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine this morning. Its war is dangerously reaching Moldova,” she said in a post on X, adding that five “Russian air attack weapons, including Banderol missiles and drones, violated our airspace and exploded on our soil.”
