Russia escalates Ukraine infrastructure attacks, strikes second Kyiv bridge in days

Russia struck a second major bridge in Kyiv within days on Saturday, damaging the road surface and trolleybus cables and forcing the suspension of traffic across the Dnipro, as Moscow stepped up attacks on critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital.The Northern Bridge was hit during a Russian air attack, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Emergency services were deployed to the scene, while traffic from the east bank to the west bank was blocked. No casualties were reported.The strike came after Russia repeatedly targeted Kyiv’s Southern Bridge with drones on Thursday and Friday, disrupting one of the capital’s key transport links.The attacks on the two bridges mark a new phase in the latest Russian campaign against Kyiv’s infrastructure. The bridges connect the eastern and western sides of the city, whose roughly 3 million residents depend heavily on the transport network to cross the Dnipro.Kyiv’s bridges come under repeated attackThe Southern Bridge was struck several times over the previous two days, forcing authorities to temporarily suspend traffic across it as well as two other bridges over the Dnipro.The attacks caused major disruption for commuters. More than a third of Kyiv’s residents lived on the eastern, or “left”, bank of the river before Russia’s 2022 invasion, while most government institutions and companies are located on the western, or “right”, bank.Klitschko had earlier warned that the attacks were putting Kyiv in a “very dramatic situation” as Russian strikes hit the city’s critical infrastructure, logistics and housing.After one strike on the Southern Bridge, passengers described how the blast wave sent dust through the ventilation system of a train carriage.The latest attacks have revived memories of last winter, when Russia launched some of the war’s most damaging strikes against infrastructure supplying Kyiv with power.The attacks came after Russia launched what Ukraine viewed as the opening salvo of an expected winter campaign targeting energy facilities serving the capital.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was seeking to destroy not only bridges but also data centres, internet and mobile networks, hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure in an effort to force people to leave Ukrainian cities.Russia has previously denied systematically targeting civilians during its bombing campaigns.Russian president Vladimir Putin has said Moscow’s attacks are a response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. Ukraine disputes that justification, saying Russia began targeting its infrastructure first.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.