Russian Drones Hit Kyiv’s South Bridge Again as Traffic Collapses

Russian forces struck Kyiv’s South Bridge again on Friday afternoon, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The bridge, on which the capital’s green metro line runs, is one of three major crossings across the Dnipro River that separates the city and has come under repeated attack since Thursday.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Klitschko wrote at 5:50 p.m. that the bridge was hit again, and emergency services were heading to the site. Videos circulating on social media also show a dark plume of smoke rising from the bridge against the sunset. “Another hit on the Southern Bridge. Let me remind you that after several enemy attacks, the bridge is currently closed to traffic and the metro,” Klitschko wrote. Hours earlier, Klitschko said the metro was awaiting clearance to resume operations across the bridge during yellow-tier air sirens, the lower-risk level of the two-tier system introduced in September. The attacks prompted authorities to shut down the bridge and restrict traffic on the remaining bridges, leading to gridlocked traffic across the capital on Friday and prompting some locals to walk across the bridges. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the wake of the attacks that the Russian leader Vladimir Putin had ordered his military commanders to abandon previous constraints on aerial attacks and intensify strikes on civilian sites, with a Russian drone also having slammed into a Ukrainian school during classes on Thursday without exploding. Other Topics of Interest Kyiv Metro Awaits Safety Clearance to Resume South Bridge Crossings Trains could resume crossing the South Bridge during yellow air alerts once experts confirm it is safe following Russian drone strikes. Media reports, citing allegedly leaked Russian war plans, also suggest that Moscow is planning to paralyze Ukraine in winter by rendering 90 percent of heating, electricity and water supplies unavailable to Ukrainians as a pressure tactic. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.