Russia has begun striking Kyiv’s bridges across the Dnipro for the first time since invading Ukraine
In recent days, Russian forces have begun attacking some of Kyiv’s most important transport links: the bridges across the Dnipro River, which had not previously come under attack.
On October 1 and 2, Russian drones attacked the Southern Bridge, damaging a bridge support, a guardrail, the road surface, and a concrete barrier along the metro tracks. The bridge remains closed to cars and metro trains. On October 3, the Northern Bridge came under attack. Two people were injured, and the road surface and overhead trolleybus power lines were damaged. The bridge is partially closed to traffic.
Kyiv has nine bridges across the Dnipro. Ukrainian experts say drones alone cannot destroy them and that more powerful weapons would be needed. But continued drone attacks could make the bridges unsafe, forcing traffic to stop and severely disrupting transportation around Kyiv. The first strikes on the Southern Bridge have already caused severe traffic jams in the Ukrainian capital.
As the strikes on Kyiv’s bridges began, Volodymyr Zelensky said Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian military commanders to disregard the rules of warfare when carrying out airstrikes on Ukraine. According to Zelenskyy, Ukrainian intelligence services learned of the order from intercepted communications. He said Putin issued it in September, when Russia’s strikes on Kyiv became much more frequent and caused far greater damage to civilian infrastructure.
As Russian attacks on Kyiv intensified, The Guardian reported that Western diplomats were preparing contingency plans to relocate their embassies from the Ukrainian capital. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said it knew nothing about these plans. Meanwhile, Russia again called on Western diplomats to leave Kyiv. The evacuation of embassies from the city would be a propaganda victory for Moscow.
The war in photographs
Russia struck Kharkiv with guided aerial bombs on October 2, damaging residential buildings, offices, and an educational facility. Two people were killed and more than 30 were injured
Sergey Kozlov / EPA / Scanpix / LETA
One of the buildings damaged in the Russian attack on Kharkiv
Sofiia Gatilova / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
Sergey Bobok / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
Andrii Marienko / AP / Scanpix / LETA
Firefighters after the attack on Kharkiv
Sofiia Gatilova / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
Kharkiv residents who lost a relative in the October 2 shelling
Sofiia Gatilova / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
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