Russia strikes second major bridge in Kyiv, mayor says

A Russian missile struck a second significant bridge in Kyiv on Saturday morning, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported, as Moscow escalates assaults on key infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital. The assault on the Northern Bridge caused damage to its road surface and overhead trolleybus cables, resulting in traffic congestion, according to Klitschko.

This follows a series of attacks on the Southern Bridge, which Russian drones targeted repeatedly on Thursday and Friday. Klitschko had previously warned that such attacks were "tearing Kyiv apart." The Northern and Southern bridges are the only links between Kyiv's eastern and western sections and had never been hit before Thursday, indicating a shift in Russia's approach.

The strikes on the Southern Bridge have disrupted travel, suspending both metro and car traffic across it. With approximately three million residents, many of whom depend on the metro to navigate the city, Klitschko announced via Telegram that emergency services were responding to the Northern Bridge strike. Traffic from the left to the right bank of the Northern Bridge remains blocked.

Earlier assaults on the Southern Bridge prompted Kyiv's defense council to convene a crisis meeting on Friday, leading Klitschko to declare the city in a "very dramatic situation" as Moscow targeted its "critical infrastructure, logistics, housing," and other essential facilities. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Russia was retaliating against Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy facilities, despite Moscow's initial initiation of such attacks.

Following the Southern Bridge attack, passengers recounted experiencing dust from a blast wave entering their carriage via the ventilation system. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Putin had declared "no rules" in targeting Ukraine. In a Financial Times interview, he added that Russians aimed to destroy bridges, data centers, the internet, mobile networks, hospitals, kindergartens, schools, and universities, compelling people to flee their cities.