Russian strike damages Kyiv’s Northern Bridge over Dnipro

According to Kyiv’s mayor and several reports, Russian troops attacked the city’s Northern Bridge over the Dnipro on Oct. 3, damaging the roadway and trolleybus wiring and halting travel in one direction. Emergency services were sent to the crossing after the attack.¹²³⁴

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Damage and disruption

Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported the strike after a drone alert. Traffic from Kyiv’s left bank to its right bank was blocked, while Meduza reported that the bridge was partially closed. Deutsche Welle and The Straits Times said no casualties had been reported, although that information was not independently confirmed in the dossier.¹²³⁴

The damaged road surface and trolleybus cables affected a route connecting the two sides of the Ukrainian capital. The Straits Times reported that emergency services were deployed to the scene and described the suspended direction of travel as east to west.¹²⁴

Reports differ on the number of Dnipro crossings in Kyiv. Deutsche Welle and France 24 described eight bridges connecting the city’s two banks, while Meduza put the total at nine.¹²³

Repeated attacks on crossings

The Northern Bridge strike followed attacks on the Southern Bridge. Meduza said the crossing was targeted by no fewer than three Russian drone strikes on Oct. 1 and 2, which damaged a support, guardrail, roadway and a concrete protective barrier for the metro.³

The Southern Bridge was closed to all traffic, according to Meduza. France 24 reported that movement on another bridge was restricted, while The Straits Times said traffic on the Southern Bridge and two other crossings was temporarily suspended. Those disruptions contributed to severe congestion across Kyiv.²³⁴

Deutsche Welle described stationary cars and buses on major roads, while France 24 reported that some commuters completed parts of their journeys on foot. Meduza said the attacks on the two main bridges also prompted partial closures elsewhere in the city.¹²³

A divided capital

The Straits Times said that more than one-third of Kyiv’s three million people lived on the eastern bank before Moscow began its full-scale war in February 2022. It also said most residents worked on the western side, where the majority of government institutions and companies were located.²⁴

Russia has frequently attacked Kyiv overnight with drones since the February 2022 invasion, according to Deutsche Welle. France 24 said that while much of the conflict’s ground fighting has been concentrated in eastern Ukraine, the bridge attacks caused disruption inside the capital.¹²

The Straits Times reported that Ukrainians regarded Russia’s action as the start of an anticipated winter air campaign targeting sites that provide Kyiv with electricity. Moscow has previously denied systematically attacking civilians, a position reported by Deutsche Welle and The Straits Times but disputed in the dossier.¹⁴

TASS presented the Northern Bridge as a crossing used to move troops and carried a Russian Defense Ministry statement saying Russian forces were continuing attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and vessels used for military purposes. The statement did not provide a detailed account of the reported damage to the bridge.⁶