Russia strikes another major bridge in Kyiv as attacks on Ukrainian capital escalate

Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

A Russian strike hit Kyiv’s Northern Bridge on Saturday, marking the latest in a series of attacks on the city’s infrastructure as Moscow escalates its campaign on the Ukrainian capital.

Two people were injured in Saturday’s attack, Kyiv’s mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said, adding that the strike damaged the road and the power supply system that delivers electricity to a trolleybus, as well as suspended some traffic across the river.

It comes just a day after Kyiv’s Southern Bridge, which serves ground transportation and the city’s subway system, was hit five times in less than 24 hours.

The attacks have caused major travel disruption since Thursday. The Southern Bridge remains closed, with traffic on the Northern Bridge restricted.

Ukrainian officials said the strikes are effectively cutting the capital into two.

Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

Kyiv is split in half by the Dnipro River, with the right bank home to the majority of the city’s business centers, offices and government institutions. The left bank is mostly residential and where at least 30% of the capital’s residents live. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it carried out the strike on Saturday, claiming the bridge is used to move Ukrainian troops and military supplies. It also said that it targeted a logistics center in the Kyiv region.

Kyiv region military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said on Saturday that a warehouse and production premise had been hit, injuring four people.

Kyiv’s defense council held an emergency meeting on Friday.

State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv/Handout/Reuters

Russia accelerated its campaign in Kyiv in late August, taking advantage of the country’s lack of interceptors and limited other methods for defending against jet-powered drones. “The capital is in a very dire situation. And it is no longer possible to pretend that we can live as we did in peacetime,” Klitschko said Saturday. “The enemy is laying waste to Kyiv. Infrastructure, critical infrastructure, logistics, housing, social facilities. The aggressor has also resumed its destruction of the energy sector. We are doing everything in our power to keep the city functioning under constant destructive attacks, when it is no longer a question of our usual comforts, but of safety and survival.” Klitschko called on society to “unite, as we did in February 2022.”

Ukraine’s Air Force said in a statement that Russian launched 157 attack drones and decoy drones overnight and in the early hours of Saturday. Air defenses shot down or neutralized 131 of those drones.

Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

周六，俄罗斯空袭了基辅的北桥，这是莫斯科不断升级对乌克兰首都的军事行动，对该市基础设施发动的一系列袭击中的最新一起。

基辅市长维塔利·克利奇科表示，周六的袭击造成两人受伤，并补充说，罢工破坏了道路和为无轨电车供电的电力供应系统，并导致部分跨河交通中断。

就在一天前，基辅的南桥（连接地面交通和城市地铁系统）在不到 24 小时内遭到五次撞击。

自周四以来，袭击事件已造成严重的交通中断。南桥仍然封闭，北桥的交通也受到限制。

乌克兰官员表示，这些袭击实际上将首都一分为二。

瓦伦丁·奥吉连科/路透社

第聂伯河将基辅一分为二，右岸集中了该市大部分商业中心、办公楼和政府机构。左岸则以住宅区为主，至少有30%的首都居民居住于此。俄罗斯国防部称，此次袭击发生在周六，并声称该桥梁被用于运送乌克兰军队和军事物资。国防部还表示，袭击目标是基辅地区的一个后勤中心。

基辅州军事管理局局长季穆尔·特卡琴科周六表示，一处仓库和生产场所遭到袭击，造成四人受伤。

基辅国防委员会周五召开紧急会议。

乌克兰国家紧急事务管理局（基辅）/图片由路透社提供

俄罗斯在8月下旬加紧了对基辅的攻势，利用了该国缺乏拦截器和其他防御喷气式无人机手段的弱点。“首都的局势非常危急。我们再也不能假装像和平时期那样生活了，”克里琴科周六表示。“敌人正在摧毁基辅。基础设施、关键基础设施、后勤保障、住房、社会设施，无一幸免。侵略者还恢复了对能源部门的破坏。我们正在竭尽全力，在持续不断的破坏性攻击下维持城市的运转。现在，我们面临的不再是舒适的生活，而是安​​全和生存。”克里琴科呼吁社会“团结起来，就像我们在2022年2月所做的那样”。

乌克兰空军在一份声明中表示，俄罗斯在周六凌晨及夜间发射了157架攻击型无人机和诱饵无人机。乌克兰防空部队击落或摧毁了其中131架无人机。