Russian Strikes Paralyse Kyiv as Ukraine Seeks Tougher Sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s allies to strengthen sanctions against Russia after overnight drone strikes disrupted traffic in Kyiv and hit locations across the country. Several major routes across the Dnipro River were closed, including the Southern Bridge and Paton Bridge in both directions and the Metro Bridge toward Kyiv’s right bank. Zelenskyy said Iranian-type Shahed drones struck the Southern Bridge several times. Russia launched more than 100 drones, and one person was killed. Zelenskyy argued that Russia’s drone and missile production still depends on foreign components, despite Moscow’s efforts to manufacture weapons domestically. He said supply chains run through companies in Europe, the United States, China and Japan, and called for political action to stop those components from reaching Russia. His appeal followed recent statements by EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas about proposals to tighten sanctions enforcement, as well as US President Donald Trump’s signing of a broad Russian sanctions package targeting Putin, financial institutions, and the energy and defence sectors. The attacks also struck a kindergarten in Kherson, a grocery store in Kharkiv, and apartment buildings in Kramatorsk and Sumy. The Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava and Rivne regions were reported under attack, with at least four people wounded. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces hit a Kyiv bridge, a regional power station, the Izmail port and a cargo vessel, claiming the sites served Ukrainian military purposes. Ukraine also reported overnight attacks inside Russia. Its military said it struck a Lukoil facility in Volgograd and an oil dispatch station in the Samara region, where fires broke out, and carried out missions against other sites, including airfields and industrial facilities. Authorities in the Black Sea port of Tuapse said drone debris damaged an enterprise, without providing further details.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko has warned that intensified Russian drone and missile attacks are “tearing Kyiv apart,” describing the capital’s situation as “very dramatic.” Speaking after a crisis meeting of the city’s defence council, he said Russian strikes were damaging critical infrastructure, logistics, housing and other facilities, with the apparent aim of sowing panic. He called the situation one of survival but said Kyiv would prevail through the efforts of its residents and supporters. A key focus of the attacks has been the Pivdennyi (Southern) bridge, a major crossing over the Dnipro River. It was hit repeatedly over two days, including in an overnight drone attack and again on Friday evening. Metro and vehicle traffic across it has been suspended, contributing to major delays; restrictions also affect Kyiv’s two other principal bridges. The city’s data centres have recently been struck as well, causing internet outages. One person was killed when a multi-storey residential building was hit, according to Ukraine’s state emergencies service. With Kyiv’s population estimated at about three million and many residents dependent on the metro, the disruption affects daily life across the capital. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Vladimir Putin of abandoning rules in attacks on Ukraine and said Russia was targeting bridges, data centres, communications networks, hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure to force people to flee. Putin, by contrast, said Russian attacks on Ukrainian economic targets were retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and Black Sea ships. He acknowledged that Ukraine’s refinery attacks had achieved some results and that Russia had lost about 1% of its GDP. Ukraine says it targets Russian oil infrastructure because it helps finance the war. The article places the latest attacks in the context of Russia’s repeated strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure since its full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Russian drone attacks damaged bridges in Kyiv and killed one person, according to Ukrainian authorities, prompting closures that disrupted traffic between the city’s western and eastern banks of the Dnipro River. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Southern Bridge, also known as the Pivdennyi Bridge, was completely closed. The structure carries road traffic and a metro line and had been hit twice in two days. The Paton Bridge was also closed to traffic heading toward the river’s left bank. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its drones had targeted a Dnipro bridge used for military purposes. The attacks also hit a 25-story building in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district, killing one person and injuring at least two others. Russia additionally reported strikes on a power station in the Kyiv region, the Port of Izmail near the Black Sea, and a cargo vessel. The article notes that Russia has repeatedly attacked Kyiv with overnight drones since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022, while Ukraine has been developing interceptor technology to counter them. The article also reports Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian infrastructure. Officials in the Volgograd region said industrial infrastructure was targeted and an apartment building was damaged, wounding one person. Authorities in Krasnodar said drone debris damaged an enterprise in Tuapse. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had carried out operations against oil facilities in the Samara and Volgograd regions, as well as targets including airfields, industrial sites, refineries, a missile and space center, and an ammunition depot across several Russian regions. Ukraine has targeted Russian oil refineries over the past year in an effort to weaken the country’s energy industry. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine’s strikes had cost Russia 1% of its GDP.

Russian strikes on Kyiv’s infrastructure have severely disrupted the capital, prompting Mayor Vitali Klitschko to say the city can no longer behave as though it is at peace. After attacks on the Southern Bridge, authorities closed it to vehicles in both directions and restricted traffic on the Paton Bridge, leaving commuters stranded in lengthy queues or walking to find another route. A seamstress described a three-hour journey to work and said crossing the bridges had become impossible. The article says Kyiv has faced increasingly frequent aerial attacks in recent months. Air-raid alerts sound almost continuously for the city’s estimated three million residents, while strikes on transport and energy facilities threaten travel, electricity and heating ahead of winter. Recent attacks killed one person and injured at least two in Kyiv; Russian shelling in Kharkiv killed two and injured dozens, according to the city’s mayor. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Vladimir Putin of abandoning the rules of armed conflict by ordering mass attacks on civilians. The Kremlin had rejected the broader accusation and did not immediately respond to Zelensky’s latest claim. Zelensky also called for tougher sanctions to curb Russia’s production of jet-powered drones, arguing that foreign components are a critical vulnerability and that stopping their supply requires political will. The article also reports Ukraine’s efforts to counter the attacks and strike Russian military-linked infrastructure. Zelensky said Ukraine had used its FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time and was testing domestic drone interceptors. Ukraine’s military said it struck oil facilities in Volgograd and Samara. Kyiv denied reports that its F-16s might be grounded, although Zelensky said around half the fleet was undergoing lengthy maintenance in Europe.

Russian air strikes hit Kyiv’s Southern Bridge again on Friday, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who reported the attack on Telegram. The bridge had also been struck on Thursday, when Russian drones hit a school and the bridge, causing fires in the Ukrainian capital. Kyiv authorities closed traffic in both directions on the Southern Bridge and Paton Bridge and redirected vehicles to alternative routes. Klitschko also reported a fire on the upper floors of an apartment building and damage elsewhere in the city. The article describes the attacks as part of Moscow’s nearly daily, around-the-clock strikes on Ukraine. It also reports Ukrainian drone attacks on industrial facilities in the Russian city of Volgograd, which is home to a large oil refinery. A fire broke out, and one person was injured after a drone struck an apartment building, according to the regional governor. The report links Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries to economic and public effects. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes had cost Russia 1% of its gross domestic product. Damage to refineries has also contributed to long lines of people seeking to refill their car tanks. The article presents these developments as reciprocal attacks affecting infrastructure, civilian areas, transport, and fuel supplies, while attributing claims to Ukrainian officials, a Russian governor, and Putin.