Russian air strikes have disrupted traffic on Kyiv’s Dnipro River bridges for the second consecutive day, according to officials. This escalation is part of a broader campaign of air attacks targeting critical infrastructure, significantly affecting daily life in the Ukrainian capital.
On the evening of October 2, a drone strike hit the Southern Bridge, which had already been closed, leading to the full or partial suspension of traffic across it and two other bridges spanning the Dnipro River. Long traffic jams were reported throughout the city as residents adapted to the ongoing drone attacks that have intensified in recent weeks.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the situation in Kyiv as “very dramatic” during a city security council meeting held prior to the latest attack. Over a third of Kyiv’s 3 million residents live on the eastern bank of the Dnipro, while most work on the western bank, where government institutions and businesses are concentrated.
Earlier on the same day, a Russian drone strike resulted in one fatality and two injuries when it caused a fire in an apartment building. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, two individuals were killed and 32 injured due to a guided-bomb strike, as reported by the regional governor.
A senior Ukrainian official indicated that the recent strikes on bridges and other vital infrastructure are likely linked to an order from President Vladimir Putin to intensify Russia’s air campaign, a claim first reported by the Financial Times.
Economic analyst Andriy Shevchishin noted that approximately 500,000 people commute daily from the left bank to the right bank of the Dnipro. Residents on the left bank have faced severe power and heating outages during winter months due to Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, with some areas lacking heating for over a week in sub-zero temperatures last winter.
Memories of last winter’s hardships are fresh in the minds of residents as they brace for what is perceived as the beginning of a new winter bombing campaign targeting power facilities in the capital. Since summer, Russia has launched numerous drone attacks, with Ukrainian defenses struggling to counter them effectively.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed that its drones successfully targeted a Kyiv bridge, a power station in the surrounding region, and military assets in the southwestern port of Izmail. Additionally, further strikes reportedly hit a data centre in Mykolaiv and a vessel bound for Odesa.
In response, Ukraine has also targeted Russian oil refineries, with President Putin stating that these strikes have cost Russia approximately 1% of its gross domestic product. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced that Poland, Belgium, and Spain have agreed to supply ammunition for Ukraine’s F-16 jet fighters, enhancing its capabilities against the new, faster drones.
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