Kyiv Bridges.. Moscow Changes Its Target Bank in Ukraine

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The bridges connecting the banks of Kyiv have entered the circle of repeated Russian targeting, in an escalation that threatens to disrupt the movement of residents and supplies across the Dnipro River, increasing pressure on the Ukrainian capital. Although none of the bridges have collapsed in the attacks, the damage and fears of repeated shelling have led authorities to close some and restrict traffic on others, which means the impact of the strikes extends to the movement of residents, their businesses, and the arrival of goods in a city that relies on these crossings to connect its residential neighborhoods with centers of administration and commercial activity.

In the latest episode of targeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced via the platform "X" on Sunday that a Russian drone struck the "Pivnichny" bridge, known as the northern bridge, this morning.

He also clarified that Russia launched 135 attack drones overnight, including more than 50 with jet engines, targeting areas in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia, with power outages affecting some residential communities.

This attack came after six strikes targeted the capital's bridges over three days; three drones hit the southern bridge last Thursday, and it was struck twice on Friday, before the northern bridge was targeted on Saturday morning.

As a result, movement was restricted or suspended on five of the six road bridges, to varying degrees. The northern bridge was temporarily closed, while traffic and metro movement across the southern bridge were halted, and restrictions were imposed on three other crossings.

Passenger movement was not far from danger; the first strike on the southern bridge coincided with a metro train crossing without recording any injuries, while a later circulated clip showed it being hit by another drone while people were crossing on foot.

The geography of Kyiv explains the danger of this escalation; the eastern bank, which is residential and houses about a million people, relies on the bridges to reach the western bank, where government institutions and company headquarters are concentrated.

Food supplies and equipment, along with residents, cross the river that runs through Ukraine from north to south, making the disruption of crossings a burden on the capital and its associated supply networks.

In this context, Ukrainian officials and military experts viewed the targeting of bridges as part of a campaign to weaken the economy and undermine the war effort, alongside exhausting the population by complicating the details of their daily lives. This interpretation is reinforced by the increase in strikes on warehouses, trains, data centers, medical supply depots, and steel factories, as well as the electricity network. These are Ukrainian estimates of the motives behind the campaign, not objectives announced by Moscow.

On the other hand, the lack of air defense systems has made it more difficult to protect dispersed facilities, while the growing Russian arsenal allows for the intensification and geographical distribution of attacks.

Although destroying massive concrete bridges requires multiple strikes, hitting their supporting elements may be enough to close them until inspections and repairs are completed.

The cost of closure increases with limited alternatives; the nearest bridge south of Kyiv is about 90 miles away, imposing long detours on residents and supply trucks. Thus, the capital may face an extended transport crisis even without the collapse of its bridges; simply preventing crossings is enough to disrupt businesses and delay supplies, turning a routine daily journey into a recurring challenge in a city worn down by years of war and the pressures of bombardment.