Intensified Russian strikes tearing Kyiv apart, mayor warns
Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said the city is now in a "very dramatic situation" as Moscow bashes critical infrastructure, logistics, housing and other key facilities.
His remarks came after Kyiv’s defence council held a crisis meeting following new Russian strikes on a key bridge that caused traffic chaos. Kyiv’s data centres were recently hit, creating internet outages.
"We are talking about survival," Klitschko said during a defence council meeting with Kyiv’s top military, security, emergencies and police officials. He warned that Russia’s aim was to"sow panic" and stressed that the capital will prevail only through joint efforts of those who love and care for it.
The mayor spoke just hours after the Pivdennyi Bridge was hit again in an overnight Russian drone attack, the fourth strike in two days. The bridge is a main transport artery across the Dnipro River, dividing the western and eastern parts of the city. All metro and automobile traffic is now suspended across the bridge, creating delays across Kyiv. Restrictions also exist on Kyiv’s two other key bridges.
About three million residents depend largely on the city’s metro network. One person was killed when a multi‑storey residential building was hit overnight, the state emergencies service DSNS reported.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a financial interview that Russians have failed to occupy Ukraine and are now launching massive attacks to force people to flee. He added that the Russians target bridges, data centres, the internet, mobile networks, hospitals, kindergartens and universities.
Putin said Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian economic targets were a direct response to Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries and ships in the Black Sea. He acknowledged that Kyiv’s refinery attacks had some effect, causing Russia to lose about 1% of its GDP.
Russia has been targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, with attacks ramping up every winter since the 2022 invasion.
