Russian drones struck major bridges in Kyiv for a fourth day in a row on Sunday, as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in the Ukrainian capital on an unannounced visit. Two people were hurt when the Pivnichnyi, or Northern, Bridge was hit for the second consecutive morning, after the Pivdennyi, or Southern, Bridge was struck several times earlier in the week.
Kyiv’s eight bridges over the Dnipro River join the western and eastern halves of a city of roughly three million people, and some 500,000 vehicles cross them every day. Both damaged bridges are still standing, but repairs and traffic restrictions have caused gridlock at times. Officials say they are planning temporary pontoon bridges, ferry services and even a tunnel under the river. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a separate strike had damaged a heating main, leaving the north-eastern Desnyanskyi district temporarily without hot water. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 135 drones overnight, 52 of them jet-powered, and that 125 were shot down.
Merz met President Volodymyr Zelensky and the two laid wreaths for Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war. Zelensky said afterwards that a new aid package worth more than €1.3bn had been agreed with Germany, covering weapons for immediate use and support for the energy sector before winter. Writing on X, Merz said Ukraine was facing decisive weeks and that Germany’s own security depended on the outcome. Since he became chancellor in May 2025, Germany has become the largest single donor to Ukraine.
Moscow has said it will step up strikes across Ukraine, citing Zelensky’s comments earlier in the week that Kyiv would increase attacks on Russian oil refineries. Russia’s military said it had targeted the two bridges because they were used to move Ukrainian troops. The Russian foreign ministry also repeated a warning for foreign citizens, including diplomats, to leave Kyiv. The EU’s ambassador, Katarína Mathernová, replied on X that the delegation was staying, and German ambassador Boris Ruge added: “Amen – we’re staying”.
Kyiv’s defence council held a crisis meeting on Friday after the earlier attacks on the Pivdennyi Bridge, and Klitschko described the city’s position as a “very dramatic situation”. Experts say drones are unlikely to bring the bridges down, but repeated strikes can force closures. Strikes were also reported elsewhere, with one person killed in the north-eastern Sumy region and six injured in Dnipro. Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
