Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv’s Northern Bridge over the Dnieper River in the early hours of Saturday, November 7, closing the crossing in both directions and wounding five people, including a 14-year-old child, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, dnes.dir.bg reported.
Hours before the strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russian forces were preparing new attacks on energy infrastructure and the bridges over the Dnieper River.
We now have intel that another strike is being prepared – targeting our energy sector, bridges across the Dnipro, and civilian infrastructure. The Air Force and the Armed Forces of Ukraine overall are preparing to protect us. We need interceptor missiles for our Patriots. Every… pic.twitter.com/6D0i2TsO6S
Bridge Closed as Power and Water Cuts Hit the Capital
The missiles damaged the bridge’s road surface, trolleybus line and power cable, Klitschko said. Five trucks parked near the structure were also hit. Debris fell on a residential building in Kyiv’s Solomenka district, injuring five people; the State Emergency Service said a non-residential building at the same location was also struck. The five injured include a 14-year-old child, delnik.bg reported.
Klitschko called the power supply situation in the capital “extremely difficult,” with interruptions to heating and water supplies. Strikes also hit energy facilities in Kyiv Oblast—the Tropolska thermal power plant, the Kyivska substation, and a plant producing rocket fuel components—and a substation in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukrainian authorities confirmed. Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the strike on the Northern Bridge and said a Meridian enterprise in Kyiv that produces Flamingo missiles was hit.
⚡️Russian ballistic missiles slam Kyiv after Zelensky warns of mass attack. Several waves of ballistic missiles have targeted the capital, with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reporting that Russia is attacking infrastructure facilities near the city.https://t.co/dKQaqVLTIx
Damage to energy facilities in Zhytomyr Oblast showed the attack was not limited to the Kyiv area.
Eight Bridge Strikes Since October, Yet Traffic Resumes in Under a Day
Since early October, Russia has struck two of Kyiv’s six road bridges over the Dnieper—the Southern and Northern—eight times, dw.com reported. Each time, traffic resumed in less than a day. About 600,000 vehicles cross those bridges every 24 hours, according to the transport ministry.
⚡️Update: Russian ballistic missiles slam Ukraine's capital as Kyiv's Northern Bridge damaged, 5 people injured, including child, after Zelensky's warning. Among the five injured in the city is a 14-year-old girl, and another two people have been hospitalized, Kyiv Mayor Vitali…
Kyiv’s six road bridges over the Dnieper are the Northern, Paton, Metro, Southern, Darnytskyi, and Podilsko-Voskresenskyi, with three additional railway crossings, dw.com reported.
Ukrainian defense lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko said the bridge attacks serve as “psychological pressure” aimed at disrupting logistics, dw.com reported.
Ukraine Builds 21 Alternative Crossings Over the Dnieper
Ukraine has begun building 21 new bridge crossings over rivers including the Dnieper, with the first expected to open early next year, Infrastructure Minister Mykola Kalashnik told lawmakers, Euronews reported. Kyiv has allocated one billion hryvnia—about 20 million euros—for “combined water crossings,” dw.com reported, and Kalashnik promised pontoon bridges and embankment dams within three months to handle traffic comparable to the 600,000 vehicles that use the road bridges daily.
Klitschko said earlier this month that the city was working with the Restoration Agency to build pontoon crossings for the “worst-case scenario,” Agence France-Presse reported.
Missile Strikes Disrupt Kyiv Bridges
Since early October, Russian forces have attacked two of Kyiv’s bridges over the Dnieper—the Southern and Northern—eight times, dw.com reported. Each strike has halted traffic temporarily. After every attack, crossings reopened in less than a day.
Bridge construction specialist Mykhailo Korniiev said destroying a bridge is very difficult, though each structure has vulnerable points such as supports. The attacks instead cause major economic damage by disrupting traffic, dw.com reported.
Korniiev said the bridges cannot be physically protected from missiles, as the structures are too large for concrete screens or other barriers; the only defense is to shoot the missiles down, dw.com reported.
The government has approved 21 new bridge crossings over rivers including the Dnieper, Euronews reported. The first are expected to open early next year. Minister Mykola Kalashnik also promised pontoon bridges within three months.
After eight strikes since October, dw.com noted, each damaged crossing has reopened to traffic in less than 24 hours.
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