Russian strikes damage Kyiv’s Northern Bridge

Russian strikes are continuing to cause civilian casualties (AP)

A Russian strike has damaged Kyiv’s Northern Bridge, suspending traffic and causing tailbacks for a third day, in Moscow’s latest effort to disrupt life in the Ukrainian capital.

The strike came a day after Russian assaults forced the full or partial closure of three of Kyiv’s six road bridges over the Dnipro River.

Previously, Russia has hit apartment blocks, supermarket warehouses, petrol stations and data centres, among other targets, in an escalation of attacks.

Russia invaded its neighbour more than four-and-a-half years ago, and there are no concrete signs that a peace settlement might be possible.

Fighting along the roughly 780-mile front line snaking through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has been virtually deadlocked in recent months.

Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the strike damaged the road surface and tram cables, forcing traffic to be suspended. There were no casualties reported.

Russia’s defence ministry confirmed it was behind the latest attack, claiming the bridge is used to “facilitate troop movements and the logistics of military cargo deliveries” for Ukraine’s armed forces.

Videos circulating on social media appeared to show the moment of impact as vehicles crossed the bridge, including footage purportedly recorded by a driver’s dashcam.

The aerial war has intensified, with Kyiv striking Russia’s oil industry and businesses while Moscow has menaced Ukrainian cities with hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones.

Moldovan president Maia Sandu said on Saturday that the war is “dangerously reaching” her country, following a spate of airspace incursions.

“I condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine this morning. Its war is dangerously reaching Moldova,” she said in a post on X, adding that five “Russian air attack weapons, including Banderol missiles and drones, violated our airspace and exploded on our soil”.

“Moscow is putting lives at risk across Europe and must be stopped,” she added.

Ukraine’s air force said that Moscow overnight launched Banderol cruise missiles – low-cost, jet-powered loitering munitions that Russia uses to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences – at the Odesa region, which shares a long land border with Moldova.

A loitering munition is designed to hover over an area, searching for targets, and detonate while crashing into them.

Meanwhile, several people were injured after Ukrainian drones overnight struck the city of Kaluga in western Russia, damaging apartment buildings, according to regional governor Vladislav Shapsha.

He did not immediately give any figures, but reported that 13 drones were shot down over the region during the night.