Russia’s campaign of drone attacks on Kyiv has reached one of the city’s most important transport links, closing the Southern Bridge after strikes hit the crossing while a metro train was on it. The bridge carries road vehicles and a metro rail line between Kyiv’s eastern and western banks, and its closure has interrupted journeys for residents, public transport and traffic across the capital.
Two Russian drones struck the Southern Bridge on October 1, the first time Russian forces had attacked bridges in Kyiv with drones since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. A drone struck the bridge over the Dnipro River at around 5:40 p.m. local time, and the crossing was hit at least four times in two days.
A subway train was crossing the bridge during one of the strikes. The blast wave pushed dust from the ventilation system into the train cars, though no passengers were hurt. Preliminary reports said the train was undamaged, but it was sent to a depot for further inspection.
Kyiv residents’ footage showed flames on the bridge and billowing smoke. Black smoke was also seen rising over the crossing after the strike.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Southern Bridge was “completely closed” to traffic. He said the strikes damaged a bridge support, barrier and road surface, as well as the protective concrete structure of the metro. The extent of any structural damage requiring longer repairs, and the timing of the bridge’s reopening, were not known.
Subway and bus services across the bridge have been suspended. Metro trains are running only between the Syrets and Vydubychi stations, and between Osokorky and Chervonyi Khutir. An earlier closure of the bridge caused major traffic jams across Kyiv and disrupted public transport between the eastern and western banks.
The disruption has particular consequences because the Southern Bridge is the city’s busiest crossing. It is one of eight bridges connecting the two banks of the Dnipro and links major highways including the M-05 Kyiv-Odesa, M-06 Kyiv-Chop and M-03 Kyiv-Kharkiv-Izyum-Sloviansk routes.
Information from the Darnytskyi District administration from 2019 put daily traffic on the bridge at between 100,000 and 110,000 cars. In a 2020 interview, Maksym Bakhmatov, head of Kyiv’s Desnyanskyi district, said about 90% of transit traffic between the banks passed through the bridge.
Hlib Vyshlinsky, executive director of the Center for Economic Strategy, said the bridge is crucial to the daily commute for the Pozniaky-Osokorky-Kharkivsky districts conglomeration, which houses up to 500,000 people. Its closure has therefore affected a large share of the city’s daily movement between the two sides of the river.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its drones had targeted a bridge over the Dnipro used for military purposes. Kostiantyn Kryvolap, an aviation expert and former Antonov test engineer, said the strikes may be intended to stop traffic, disrupt logistics and put psychological pressure on Kyiv’s population.
Russia has frequently targeted Kyiv with overnight drone attacks during the war. Since late August, it has intensified those attacks, increasingly using faster jet-powered drones around the clock. Those drones are more difficult for existing Ukrainian air defences to intercept. Ukraine has been developing interceptor technology to bring down Russian combat drones.
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