Kyiv Northern Bridge strike snarls traffic as Russia deepens disruption campaign

A Russian strike damaged Kyiv's Northern Bridge, suspending traffic and worsening tailbacks across the Dnipro. The attack highlighted Moscow's push to disrupt civilian life as Moldova warned the war was spreading wider.Image used for representational purposes onlyKyiv,Oct 3, 2026 15:28 ISTA Russian strike damaged Kyiv's Northern Bridge early on Saturday, suspending traffic and causing tailbacks for a third day as Moscow stepped up efforts to disrupt daily life in the Ukrainian capital. The attack came a day after Russian assaults forced the full or partial closure of three of Kyiv's six road bridges across the Dnipro River.There were no casualties, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said, though the latest strike damaged the road surface and trolleybus cables. Russia's Defence Ministry later confirmed it had carried out the attack, saying the bridge is used to "facilitate troop movements and the logistics of military cargo deliveries" for Ukraine's armed forces.Russia has previously hit apartment blocks, supermarket warehouses, petrol stations and data centres, among other targets, in what has been a wider escalation of attacks. Russia invaded its neighbour more than 4 years ago, and there are no concrete signs that a peace settlement may be possible. Fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometre front line stretching through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has been virtually deadlocked in recent months.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 threatened Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones that are difficult to intercept.Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Saturday that the war is "dangerously reaching" her country after a series of airspace incursions. "I condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine this morning. Its war is dangerously reaching Moldova," she wrote on X, adding that five "Russian air attack weapons, including Banderol missiles and drones, violated our airspace and exploded on our soil." She added, "Moscow is putting lives at risk across Europe and must be stopped." Ukraine's air force said Moscow launched Banderol cruise missiles overnight at the Odesa region, which shares a long land border with Moldova. It described them as low-cost, jet-powered loitering munitions that Russia uses to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences. A loitering munition is designed to hover over an area, search for targets and detonate on impact.Meanwhile, people were injured after Ukrainian drones struck the western Russian city of Kaluga overnight, damaging apartment buildings, according to regional Governor Vladislav Shapsha. He did not immediately give figures, but said 13 drones were shot down over the region during the night.The strike on Kyiv's Northern Bridge, the disruption to crossings over the Dnipro, Moldova's warning over airspace violations and the drone attack on Kaluga together underlined the continuing escalation in a war that remains deadlocked along much of the front line.With PTI Inputs- Ends