Russia targets Kyiv as Finnish, Norwegian leaders hold rare call with Putin

Strikes hit a major bridge in the Ukrainian capital as leaders push for ‘direct discussions’ to end the war.

People look at a building destroyed by a Russian strike in Kyiv [Yuliia Ovsiannikova/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images]

Russia has attacked transport infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital, targeting a major bridge, as the leaders of Finland and Norway held a rare call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a separate one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Officials in Kyiv said the South Bridge was hit in overnight attacks on the city ⁠⁠that included 16 ballistic missiles and more ⁠⁠than 280 drones. Zelenskyy said Russian forces struck again while emergency crews were still dealing with the aftermath of the initial strikes.

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“This is a serious escalation in Russia’s campaign targeting our logistics,” he said.

A resident walks under a bridge damaged by shrapnel during an overnight Russian missile strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 27, 2026 [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]

Russian attacks also caused deaths and injuries in the cities of Kharkiv and Pavlohrad.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Telegram that its forces had targeted transport infrastructure in Kyiv and a logistics hub in the Kharkiv region, along with industrial sites and cargo vessels it said were serving military purposes.

Officials in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said a drone strike on a bus killed one person and injured 30 others.

One person was also killed and six others were wounded in a drone attack on the Russian city of Bryansk, near the Ukrainian border.

The attacks come as the warring sides prepare for talks. On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow said they had agreed to hold United States-mediated technical meetings in Abu Dhabi in early November.

Rare contact with Putin

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store called Putin from Helsinki on Tuesday to convey messages on future negotiations ahead of the Abu Dhabi meetings, according to a statement from both governments.

Zelenskyy, who spoke to the pair afterwards, said on X that they had told Putin real steps were needed to de-escalate attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities and infrastructure. He said they also discussed preparations for the November talks.

“There must be peace, de-escalation is needed, and Russia must stop dragging out the war,” he said.

In the Finnish-Norwegian statement, Stubb said the war’s outcome would directly affect the security of Finland and Norway, both of which border Russia, and of Europe more widely.

“Ending the war requires direct discussions,” he said.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb [File: Ludovic Marin/Reuters]

Store said the two leaders had stressed the importance of de-escalation during the call.

Both leaders said they spoke for their own countries, not Europe, and that Finnish and Norwegian support for Ukraine would continue.

Most Western European leaders have avoided direct contact with Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

The calls come amid a renewed US push to end the war. The two governments described Tuesday’s call, held in consultation with Ukraine, as a follow-up to talks in Oslo on October 20 with Zelenskyy and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff met Putin in St Petersburg the next day, after which the Kremlin said it was ready to resume US-mediated talks with Kyiv that stalled in February.

US President Donald Trump has also credited his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, with securing a localised ceasefire in the southern Kherson region, which took effect on Tuesday to allow aid into the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky.

乌克兰首都一座主要桥梁遭到袭击，与此同时，两国领导人正敦促进行“直接对话”以结束战争。

人们正在观看基辅一栋被俄罗斯空袭摧毁的建筑物。[Yuliia Ovsiannikova/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images]

俄罗斯袭击了乌克兰首都的交通基础设施，目标是一座主要桥梁。与此同时，芬兰和挪威领导人分别与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京和乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基进行了罕见的通话。

基辅官员称，南桥在夜间针对该市的袭击中遭到袭击，袭击中使用了16枚弹道导弹和280多架无人机。泽连斯基表示，在救援人员仍在处理最初袭击的后续工作时，俄罗斯军队再次发动了袭击。

三个欧洲国家承诺加强对乌克兰的防空支持，名单中第一个是这三个国家。

联合国将俄罗斯对乌克兰能源基础设施的三项袭击中的第二项列为战争罪行。

列表 3/3：俄罗斯停止对乌克兰赫尔松的空袭，奥列什基停火协议生效

他说：“这是俄罗斯针对我们后勤保障的行动的严重升级。”

2026年10月27日，乌克兰基辅，一名居民走过一座在俄罗斯夜间导弹袭击中被弹片损坏的桥梁。[Valentyn Ogirenko/路透社]

俄罗斯的袭击还导致哈尔科夫和巴甫洛格勒两座城市出现人员伤亡。

俄罗斯国防部在 Telegram 上表示，其部队袭击了基辅的交通基础设施、哈尔科夫地区的物流枢纽以及工业场所和货船，称这些目标被用于军事用途。

乌克兰东南部扎波罗热州（俄罗斯控制区）官员称，一辆公共汽车遭到无人机袭击，造成一人死亡，30人受伤。

在靠近乌克兰边境的俄罗斯城市布良斯克，无人机袭击造成一人死亡，六人受伤。

袭击事件发生之际，交战双方正准备举行会谈。周五，基辅和莫斯科表示，双方已同意于11月初在阿布扎比举行由美国斡旋的技术性会谈。

与普京罕见接触

据芬兰和挪威两国政府发表的声明，芬兰总统亚历山大·斯图布和挪威首相乔纳斯·加尔·斯托尔周二从赫尔辛基致电普京，就阿布扎比会议前的未来谈判传递信息。

泽连斯基事后与两人通话，他在接受X电视台采访时表示，他们告诉普京，必须采取切实措施来缓和针对乌克兰能源设施和基础设施的袭击。他还表示，双方讨论了11月会谈的准备工作。

他说：“必须实现和平，需要缓和局势，俄罗斯必须停止拖延战争。”

芬兰和挪威在联合声明中表示，战争的结果将直接影响芬兰和挪威的安全，这两个国家都与俄罗斯接壤，而且对整个欧洲的安全也将产生重大影响。

他说：“结束战争需要直接对话。”

芬兰总统亚历山大·斯图布 [图片：路德维克·马林/路透社]

Store表示，两位领导人在通话中强调了缓和局势的重要性。

两位领导人均表示，他们代表的是各自的国家，而不是欧洲，芬兰和挪威对乌克兰的支持将继续下去。

自2022年2月俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰以来，大多数西欧领导人都避免与普京直接接触。

此次通话正值美国再次施压要求结束战争之际。两国政府称，周二的通话是在与乌克兰协商后举行的，是对10月20日泽连斯基与美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫在奥斯陆会谈的后续行动。

第二天，维特科夫在圣彼得堡会见了普京，之后克里姆林宫表示，准备恢复由美国斡旋的与基辅的谈判，该谈判在2月份陷入僵局。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普也称赞他的妻子、第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普促成了南部赫尔松地区的局部停火，该停火于周二生效，允许援助物资进入俄罗斯控制的奥列什基镇。