Russia begins striking Kyiv's Dnipro bridges for first time since invasion

For the first time since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has begun targeting Kyiv's bridges across the Dnipro River — crossings that had previously been spared from attack.

Two bridges hit

On October 1 and 2, Russian drones struck the Southern Bridge, damaging a support structure, a guardrail, the road surface, and a concrete barrier along the metro line. The bridge remains closed to both vehicle and metro traffic. On October 3, the Northern Bridge was also attacked: two people were injured, and the strike damaged the road surface along with overhead trolleybus power lines. That bridge is now only partially open to traffic.

Kyiv has nine bridges crossing the Dnipro in total. Ukrainian experts say drones alone are not capable of destroying these structures and that more powerful weapons would be required. Still, repeated drone strikes could render the bridges unsafe, forcing traffic closures and seriously disrupting movement across the capital. The initial strikes on the Southern Bridge already produced severe traffic jams in Kyiv.

Zelenskyy's claim about Putin's orders

As the bridge attacks began, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Vladimir Putin had instructed Russian military commanders to ignore the rules of warfare when conducting airstrikes on Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence obtained this information from intercepted communications, and that the order was issued in September — the same month Russian strikes on Kyiv grew markedly more frequent and far more destructive to civilian infrastructure.

Amid the intensifying attacks, The Guardian reported that Western diplomats were drawing up contingency plans to relocate their embassies out of Kyiv. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said it had no knowledge of any such plans. Meanwhile, Russia renewed its calls for Western diplomats to leave the city, as an embassy evacuation from Kyiv would represent a propaganda win for Moscow.