Drone strikes keep Kyiv’s Southern Bridge closed

Repeated drone strikes left Kyiv’s Southern Bridge closed to road traffic on October 2, while restrictions on other crossings over the Dnipro River caused severe congestion across the city, according to Ukrainian officials and accounts of the disruption. The latest reported strike hit the Southern Bridge on the evening of October 2, after attacks since October 1 had prompted full or partial restrictions on that crossing and two others. The bridge connects Kyiv’s eastern and western banks and carries both road traffic and a metro line. The precise status of each crossing varied across accounts, and authorities had not provided a timetable for reopening the Southern Bridge to road vehicles. Long lines of cars and buses formed as commuters sought alternative routes, and some people continued on foot. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city was in a “very dramatic situation” as the restrictions and traffic jams disrupted movement. The bridge closures compounded pressure on routes across the Dnipro, although the reported accounts do not establish how long the limits will remain in place. The condition of the Southern Bridge after the latest strikes also remained unclear.