Russia Strikes Kyiv's Northern Bridge as the Capital Is Cut in Two

A Russian strike damaged Kyiv's Northern Bridge before dawn on Saturday, blocking the crossing between the city's left and right banks and leaving the capital's road network split in two. The attack came one day after a drone hit the Southern Bridge, the fourth strike on that span in two days. Ukrainian officials said the strikes are effectively cutting the capital in two.

Russia Strikes Kyiv's Northern Bridge as the Capital Is Cut in Two

KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian strike damaged the Northern (Pivnichnyi) Bridge in the early hours of Saturday, 3 October 2026, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. "Northern Bridge has been hit," he wrote. "Emergency services are heading to the scene." He said the road surface and trolleybus overhead wires were damaged and that traffic from the left bank to the right bank was blocked.

The Third Morning

Ukraine's Air Force issued an aerial warning at about 6:37 a.m. local time, tracking a jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle flying on a direct vector toward the Northern Bridge. Minutes later, heavy detonations echoed across the capital. Explosions were reported in the city shortly after 6:30 a.m.

Kyiv Post reported that a Russian jet-powered strike drone hit the bridge, and that local monitoring channels and eyewitnesses reported smoke and an active blaze near one of the primary bridge piers immediately after the blast. Video posted to social media appeared to show a large explosion on the bridge as vehicles crossed it.

The casualty accounts do not agree. DW and an early AP dispatch said no casualties were reported. Klitschko said two people were injured, and CNN, RBC-Ukraine and the Kyiv Independent carried the two-injured figure. RBC-Ukraine reported that medics treated one of the injured at the scene and the second was hospitalized and is now receiving outpatient treatment. There is no confirmed death toll at the bridge itself.

What Russia Says It Struck

Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed on Saturday that it carried out the strike. In its claim, the ministry said the bridge is used to "facilitate troop movements and the logistics of military cargo deliveries" for Ukraine's armed forces. The ministry also said it targeted a logistics centre in the Kyiv region. Klitschko did not mention that claim.

Kyiv region military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said a warehouse and production premise had been hit, injuring four people. That account was separate from the bridge strike and from the two injuries Klitschko reported at the crossing.

The strike is part of a broader Russian campaign against the capital that has accelerated since late August. CNN reported that Moscow has taken advantage of Ukraine's lack of interceptors and limited other methods of defending against jet-powered drones.

A Capital Cut In Two

Kyiv is split in half by the Dnipro River. The right bank holds the majority of the city's business centres, offices and government institutions. The left bank is mostly residential and home to at least 30 per cent of the capital's residents, according to CNN.

The Northern and Southern bridges link the eastern and western parts of the capital. Ukrainian officials said the strikes are effectively cutting the capital in two, CNN reported. The Southern Bridge remains closed and traffic on the Northern Bridge is restricted.

Outlets count Kyiv's crossings differently. DW reported that a total of eight bridges connect Kyiv's western and eastern banks along the Dnipro. AP described Kyiv as having six road bridges over the Dnipro. The reporting does not agree on the number, and neither figure has been independently confirmed.

Kyiv's population is about three million, and many residents rely on the metro to cross the city, the BBC reported.

Two Days, Two Bridges

A day earlier, on 2 October, a Russian drone struck the Southern (Pivdennyi) Bridge, the fourth such drone strike in two days, according to the Kyiv Independent. CNN reported the Southern Bridge was hit five times in less than 24 hours. The BBC reported it was targeted multiple times on Thursday and Friday.

Before Thursday, neither bridge had been hit, the BBC reported, "signalling a new stage in Moscow's strategy."

Passengers on the Southern Bridge described how dust from a blast wave entered their carriage through the ventilation system, the BBC reported. The CNN report said the attacks have caused major travel disruption since Thursday.

Kyiv's defence council held an emergency meeting on Friday, according to CNN and the BBC.

The Warning To Foreign Diplomats

Russia's Foreign Ministry warned foreign nationals and diplomatic personnel in Kyiv of "mortal danger" on Saturday. It urged them not to remain in the capital or travel into Ukrainian territory, and said Russian forces would carry out sustained "massive retaliatory strikes," according to Russian state media via Kyiv Post.

AP reported Russia previously issued a similar warning in May. The dispatch was issued through Russian state media channels and carried by Kyiv Post, and it came hours after the Northern Bridge was hit as emergency crews worked at the scene.

Moldova Says The War Reached Its Soil

Moldova's President Maia Sandu said on X: "I condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine this morning. Its war is dangerously reaching Moldova." She said five "Russian air attack weapons, including Banderol missiles and drones, violated our airspace and exploded on our soil."

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

The Barrage Behind The Bridge

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 157 Shahed and Gerbera drones, including some jet-powered Shaheds, plus Parodiya decoy drones. Ukrainian forces intercepted 131 of them. Hits were recorded at 12 locations and falling debris was reported at five other sites, according to the Kyiv Independent.

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least eight civilians and injured 83 over the past day, regional authorities reported. AP reported at least six people were killed in Russian attacks in Ukraine during the same period. The national death tolls do not agree.

In Kharkiv Oblast, five people were killed and 49 injured over the past day, with glide bombs striking three areas of the city, killing two and injuring 42, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. AP put the regional toll at five killed and more than 40 wounded.

In Dnipro, a residential building was struck, injuring four women aged 55, 62, 77 and 88, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said. A business centre in the city was hit for the second time that week. Donetsk Oblast reported nine injured, Kherson Oblast four and Zaporizhzhia Oblast two, according to Governors Vadym Filashkin, Oleksandr Prokudin and Ivan Fedorov. Zaporizhzhia recorded 737 Russian attacks on 55 settlements in the past day.

Sumy Oblast reported three killed and 10 injured overnight. In Mykolaiv Oblast, three men aged 21, 47 and 62 were injured in an attack involving Shahed drones and an Iskander-M ballistic missile, with port and civilian infrastructure damaged; two remained hospitalized in serious condition, Heorhii Reshetilov said.

In Russia, Ukrainian drone strikes killed a civilian and wounded two more in the Belgorod region, local authorities said, while drones struck the city of Kaluga, damaging apartment buildings. Governor Vladislav Shapsha reported 13 drones were shot down over the region.

Klitschko's Warning To Kyiv

"The capital is in a very dire situation," Klitschko said. "And it is no longer possible to pretend that we can live as we did in peacetime."

"The enemy is laying waste to Kyiv. Infrastructure, critical infrastructure, logistics, housing, social facilities. The aggressor has also resumed its destruction of the energy sector. We are doing everything in our power to keep the city functioning under constant destructive attacks, when it is no longer a question of our usual comforts, but of safety and survival."

Klitschko called on society to "unite, as we did in February 2022." He had earlier warned that the attacks were "tearing Kyiv apart" and that the city was in a "very dramatic situation."

Municipal operator Kyivpastrans and the Kyiv City State Administration reported severe disruption to transport. Bus routes 21, 73, 101 and 114 and trolleybus lines 29, 30, 31 and 47 were delayed. Buses 21, 73 and 101 were rerouted across the Podilskyi Bridge toward the Poshtova Ploshcha metro station and European Square.

Two Leaders, Two Accounts

President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Financial Times: "The Russians have failed to occupy us. So now they are carrying out massive attacks and mass killings." He said Putin had decided there were "no rules now."

"They want to destroy our bridges... our data centres, the internet, mobile networks, hospitals, kindergartens, schools, universities - everything," Zelensky said. "They want people to flee their cities."

Putin has said Russia is acting in response to Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy facilities, despite the fact that it was Moscow that first launched such attacks, the BBC reported.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than four and a half years ago. There are no concrete signs a peace settlement is possible, and fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometre (780-mile) front line has been virtually deadlocked in recent months, according to AP.

What Comes Next

The Northern Bridge remains restricted and the Southern Bridge remains closed. Emergency crews worked through Saturday morning at the northern span, where smoke and an active blaze were reported near one of the primary piers.

Kyiv's defence council met in emergency session on Friday. Officials have not said how long repairs will take or whether either bridge can carry traffic in the coming days.

The strikes have narrowed the routes available to cross the Dnipro. With the metro still running and buses rerouted across the Podilskyi Bridge, the city is functioning on a reduced network that officials describe as a question of safety and survival rather than normal service.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has told foreign nationals and diplomats to leave the capital, warning of sustained "massive retaliatory strikes." Moldova's president says the war is "dangerously reaching" her country after five Russian air attack weapons crossed its airspace and exploded on its soil.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Associated Press, CNN, BBC News, Kyiv Independent, Kyiv Post, Ukrinform, RBC-Ukraine, Deutsche Welle, Financial Times.