Ukrainian authorities closed Kyiv's North Bridge to traffic on Saturday after Russian strikes damaged its road surface and trolleybus cables, as Moscow said it had targeted a cargo ship in the Black Sea and a military supply depot in Kyiv Oblast.
North Bridge damaged and closed to traffic
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had targeted the North Bridge, which carries vehicle traffic over the Dnipro River, explaining that the strike was intended to hinder and disrupt the movement of Ukrainian forces. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed on Telegram that the bridge had come under Russian strikes, saying emergency services had headed to the site immediately after air-raid sirens sounded to warn of a drone attack.
Klitschko said the strikes damaged the road surface and the cables used by trolleybuses, prompting the authorities to close the bridge. The North Bridge is the second major bridge targeted in the Ukrainian capital within a few days, after the South Bridge came under attack by Russian drones on Thursday and Friday.
Traffic paralysis and concerns over Kyiv's bridges
The attacks on the two bridges caused traffic paralysis and severe congestion in Kyiv, which is divided by the Dnipro River. The developments come amid Ukrainian concerns since the beginning of the war that the capital's eight main bridges could be destroyed, given their role in linking the two sides of the city and maintaining traffic flows.
Kyiv city authorities imposed temporary traffic restrictions on other bridges described as vital as a precautionary measure, including the Paton and Metro bridges, as well as the Darnytskyi Bridge. The restrictions came as emergency teams dealt with the effects of the latest strikes on the city's transport network.
In the Black Sea, Moscow said it had struck a cargo ship, claiming that the vessel was carrying "dual-use" consignments to the port of Odesa for the Ukrainian forces. Russia's Defence Ministry also said its forces had targeted a depot in Kyiv Oblast that it claimed was used to store materials and equipment for supplying the Ukrainian army.
The exchange of drone attacks between the two sides intensified, with Russia's Defence Ministry saying that air-defence systems had shot down 218 Ukrainian drones overnight. In the Donetsk region, the Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported that 3 people had been injured in a Ukrainian drone attack targeting the city of Donetsk.
Meanwhile, Ivan Fedorov, governor of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said that 2 people had been injured and extensive damage had been recorded to infrastructure and property following intense Russian attacks that he said had hit 55 residential areas in the region.
