Russia strikes second major bridge in Kyiv, mayor says

What the report says

BBC World News reports that a Russian strike hit the Northern Bridge in Kyiv on Saturday morning, marking the second major bridge in the Ukrainian capital to be targeted in recent days. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack damaged the road surface and overhead wires used by trolleybuses, and that emergency services were responding. He also said traffic across the bridge was blocked from the left bank to the right bank.

The latest strike followed repeated attacks on Kyiv’s Southern Bridge since Thursday. According to the BBC report, the earlier attacks disrupted metro service and led to a crisis meeting of Kyiv’s defence council on Friday. Klitschko said the city was facing a severe situation as Russian attacks were affecting critical infrastructure, logistics, housing and other facilities.

The BBC says the two bridges connect the eastern and western parts of Kyiv and had not previously been hit before Thursday, suggesting a wider shift in Moscow’s targeting of the city’s transport links. The article also notes that Russian President Vladimir Putin has framed the strikes as a response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities, although the report says Russia had already begun such attacks first. The bridge strikes matter because they could further disrupt movement and essential services in the Ukrainian capital.